How many times have you told yourself you just need to use more willpower? How many times have you beat yourself up because you made a promise to yourself to do or not to do something and in a few days or weeks you found yourself back where you started?
Guess what? You're not alone! If sheer willpower was the answer to making a lifestyle change, nobody would be stuck or tripped up with habits they can't break or changes they can't seem to implement.
Willpower is necessary for change to happen, but in order to use your willpower, you have to find the key that actually unlocks your ability to access it. Then there has to be some fuel or support to keep your willpower from running out of energy.
Willpower is necessary for change to happen, but in order to use your willpower, you have to find the key that actually unlocks your ability to access it. Then there has to be some fuel or support to keep your willpower from running out of energy.
Now, I'm not mechanically inclined, but I do know that even though a car might have a great engine, it can't get going without turning the key and engaging the starter. After that, it has to have fuel to keep going, no matter how high-tech that engine might be.
You can think of the car engine as your willpower. Some engines are better than others and some people have more willpower than others, but everyone has it! By engaging the starter and filling up with the right fuel you can get to where you want to be. A Kia can eventually get to the same destination as a BMW!
Think about someone who wants to quit smoking. They need to use a lot of willpower, but sometimes, no matter how hard they try, the smoker can't seem to quit without eventually falling back into the habit. The same goes for things like eliminating sugar, junk food, or excess salt in one's diet.
In the case of a smoker, the catalyst that jumpstarts someone to action might be a health scare. The doctor finds something suspicious on an x-ray and the fear of having cancer jumpstarts the action of quitting the habit. Someone who has thought about cutting down on sugar might find one day that they can't zip their favorite jeans and be catapulted into throwing out the sugary snacks in the cupboard. Out-of-control blood pressure might make someone put down the salt shaker.
So after the jumpstart, how do we maintain? After the scare, what keeps the willpower from fizzling?
The answer is different for every person. For some, a health scare alone is enough to make their willpower kick in for good! For someone else, finding written materials and reading them consistently is what keeps their willpower functioning optimally. For others, support and accountability are the keys.
In any case, willpower alone is not usually enough to make sustainable changes that bring lasting results. Even someone who claims they made a change through "sheer willpower" would probably have to admit that there was a catalyst that spurred them on to change and most likely an element of support and accountability along the way.
Everyone wants a "magic bullet". Everyone wants to find the diet or the book or the guru who will change their life for good. Maybe there is a magic bullet, but I don't know anyone who has ever found it! The "magic" is intention, persistence, and support.
The next time you are beating yourself up for yet another "failed" attempt at making a lifestyle change, be gentle with yourself. Remember that just as all cars have an engine, we all have willpower within us. Take time to think about what it would take to fuel your willpower and then take action to find the support you need to see it through.
To find out how a health coach can support you and your will power to make change, contact kay@healthfulreturns.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kay_E_Williams
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