You don't need to be an extraordinary man to have an indomitable will. You only need an extraordinary mindset. And the good thing about mindsets is that you can adopt whichever you want—if you just set your mind to it. By catching yourself thinking weak thoughts and then changing how you think about things, you develop the mental hammer that helps you to forge an indomitable will. In general, you want a bold will whenever you are in a bad bodymind state: when you feel hungry and weak, … [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...]
Will Vs. Flow: Can You Force Yourself to Do Something?
A common distinction between Western and Eastern philosophy concerns the importance of will. While Western philosophy emphasizes the power of will, Eastern philosophy highlights effortless action. Force versus flow You can force yourself to be courageous in the face of fear, to work without procrastinating, to persist despite exhaustion, and to suppress adverse emotions. But what does it actually mean to force yourself to do something? Consider first that you can't force your body to do … [Read more...]
Why Mindcoolness Is a Masculine State of Mind
1. Mindcoolness = Low Mental Noise Let us being by defining mindcoolness as mental tranquility. In a state of mindcoolness, you can reliably process information because you are not distracted by frantic thoughts and adverse emotions. The cooler your mind, the clearer you can think—less noise disturbs your thinking process. Mindcoolness as mental tranquility is a lack of mental noise. In cognitive science, the term "mental noise" describes a decreased reliability of information processing. … [Read more...]
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