The most common cause of failure in life is ignorance of one's own True Will, or of the means to fulfill that Will. [...] A Man whose conscious will is at odds with his True Will is wasting his strength. (Aleister Crowley, Liber ABA, Part III) How can you be successful and live a good life? Well, don't waste your strength. That's simple volitional logic. But what is success? Success is subjective, and yet... you cannot define it for yourself. You can't determine what success means to you, just … [Read more...]
On Faith and Risk-Taking (Rational Vs. Deep True Will)
On Faith and Risk-Taking What do a theoretical physicist, an entrepreneur, a revolutionary leader, and an artist have in common? They all have a profound conviction about what they truly want to do, what they need to do. Solve a scientific problem, start a new company, change the world, or make it as a professional creative. That is their deep true will. Albert Einstein: "Certain it is that a conviction, akin to religious feeling, of the rationality and intelligibility of the world lies … [Read more...]
How Cultural Beliefs Affect Willpower
Willpower Metaphors Does using willpower deplete your limited willpower tank? It will, if you think it does. "Let me first rest and refuel my tank" or "I better reserve my self-control energy for later..." But what if you see your will not as a tank that can run out of fuel? Multiple studies have shown that beliefs about self-control are self-fulfilling prophecies. If your willpower is limited, it is probably limited by your willpower limitation anxiety. Not depletion limits your willpower, … [Read more...]
How an Unhealthy Diet Destroys Your Willpower
The causal relationship between willpower and diet is reciprocal: We need self-control to eat healthy, and we need to eat healthy to have good self-control. The first relationship is obvious, but what's the biological mechanism by which an unhealthy diet destroys willpower? Inflammation We typically think of inflammation as our immune system's response to physical injury or infection that causes redness, heat, pain, and swelling. But inflammation has cognitive and motivational effects as well. … [Read more...]
Is Self-Control Natural? On the Dilemma of Discipline Vs. Spontaneity
The Dilemma of Discipline Vs. Spontaneity The dilemma of being human comes from having a prefrontal cortex in an animal body, from having both animalistic desires and the power of will to control those desires. I believe that almost all human beings make some sort of a distinction between the self that wills and acts, and the subconscious self that manages our hearts and glands and nerves. Such words as self-control and self-consciousness suggest this division of our being into two parts … [Read more...]
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