23 Jun Build something even more powerful than willpower
by Dr. Happy (@drhappy on Twitter)
They say willpower is at the heard of happiness, health and success; but this is even better…
Did you know that "willpower" is considered to be a "limited resource"? That's why when you're trying so hard to resist temptation and/or achieve something difficult you often feel exhausted and as though you're fighting against the tide!
But did you also know that there's a better way. Our very own Dr. Happy (aka Prof. Tim Sharp) recently presented at a large conference here in Sydney and in doing so he proffered a new, and more positive approach. This new approach suggests that rather than fighting to move away from what we fear or dislike that instead, we move towards what we like and find attractive. As Einstein said, "love is a better teacher than duty". So find what you love and do more of it in a positive way; find ways to make what you need to do fun and pleasurable. Check out the challenge below for some simple tips on how you can make this a reality.
Martin Luther King Jr was once quoted as saying that "the time is always right to do what's right" and Plato argued that "the most important task [of parents & educators] is to teach young people to find pleasure in the right things" (although there's no reason why this basic premise doesn't apply to all of us, regardless of role or age) so following on from the previous paragraph here are a few challenges for you to try this week…
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Select a goal or task you've been struggling to achieve
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Replace or re-define this in POSITIVE terms (e.g. what are you try to achieve rather than avoid; or what do you want to move TOWARD rather than away from?)
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Find at least one way to make this fun and/or pleasurable
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Reflect upon your core beliefs and values and tie this in to your goal
And that's about it; if you can marry your objectives with deep, meaningful beliefs AND make what you're trying to achieve fun then you'll be significantly more likely to enjoy success and happiness. Give it a try and let us know how you fare.
NB: As regular readers will know you can enjoy this challenge on the InvivoPlay website and/or smartphone app. Sign up for all of Dr. Happy's challenges HERE and/or check out this week's challenge HERE.