At New Year's did you lay out a number of changes you were going to make "this year" and then start finding yourself "without the willpower" to make them happen?
One of the most common reasons people give for failing to change something about themselves -- or for not even trying to change -- is that they just don't have enough "willpower".
But the idea that large doses of "willpower" is the most important characteristic you need for change is just not true.
It's a myth.
Successful self-change is not all about gritting your teeth and "making" yourself do something (or avoid something). It's not all about believing in your ability to change and then acting on that belief.
Willpower can be part of creating change, but it's only part. If you believe it's the single most important characteristic you need, you'll set yourself up for failure. And that failure may convince you that you just don't have enough of what it takes to change - maybe ever. You risk giving up.
And who wants that?
Successful self change takes more than willpower. (What??? I need willpower plus??!!)
I don't mean to make change sound even harder -- it's more a matter of using the right change strategy at the right time. And if you can do that, you'll find it's actually easier to change and you'll be more successful.
In my next series of posts, we'll talk about how to decide "which strategy to use when" to create change in yourself -- and, of course, I'll also suggest how neurofeedback fits in to make it even easier.
