“Lack of willpower…”

 
Shared by Breanne Smedley

It’s the reason we, as a nation, are overweight.
It’s the reason we can’t achieve the goals we set out to do.
It’s the reason we can’t stop eating.
It’s the reason we quit on ourselves.

Lack of willpower… Right?

Isn’t that the solution we’ve been told?
Just have more willpower.
More motivation.

Well, I’ve learned that my willpower is terrible.
Left to rely on my own motivation, I’m toast.

Because, everyday, there is a battle inside myself from the moment I wake up.

The alarm, sounding off at 4:45am.

I don’t feel like waking up. I want to press snooze, sleep in the comfort of my bed a little longer.

But, I knew that my motivation and willpower would be weak.

So, the night before I put my phone in the bathroom. Forcing me to get out of bed.

Once I do, the choice now becomes to get ready as efficiently as possible.

But, I want to delay a little bit.
Check my phone.
Email.
Social media.
Did that parent respond?
Did the launch get any engagement?

Things that my Lesser Self likes to mask as productivity.
But, I knew that my motivation and willpower to get ready would suck in the morning.

So, I put my phone on airplane mode the night before. No checking.

Once downstairs, the motivation to read and write isn’t there.

But, I knew it would be like this.

So, I set up my office the night before.
Book, highlighter, pen out.
The necessary prompts and documents up.

The workday starts and it’s time to complete the GRIT workout at lunch.

“I don’t feel like it. Can I push it off until later?”

I knew it would be like this. My motivation waning at this point in my teaching day.

So, I walk straight up to the weight room after my class is over.

No going back to the office.
No checking email.
Get to the weight room.

The workout gets hard. “How about only two rounds today?”

My willpower sucks. Two rounds sounds good!

But, I already told my GRIT crew I was committing to doing F4’s this whole round.

So, four rounds it is.

At home now, ready to make dinner.

“I don’t feel like cooking. Thai food?”

I knew my motivation to cook at the end of a long day would not be there.

So, that’s why I meal prepped on Sunday.

A healthy dinner is put together in 15 mins.

At the end of the night, after Charlee has gone to bed, I want to veg out.
But, there’s always work to be done when building a business.

My phone actually prompts me “Set a timer for one hour?”
One hour of building.

Finally, on the couch with my husband.
Catching up with each other from the day.

Reliving the wins, and the losses.

And I can see clearly, that most days, it’s not my motivation that got me through.

It certainly wasn’t my willpower, either.

It was the choice to be disciplined, far before willpower or motivation had any say.

Altering my environment. Removing choice. Removing temptation.

Willpower sucks. Motivation comes and goes.

It’s discipline that is the skill to be practiced above all else.

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#MindfullyEvolving

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