HEALTHY LIVING Boost Your Willpower BY GARY GREENBERG W


illpower is a guiding force that helps us achieve our life goals, perhaps


the most important being to stay healthy and battle bad habits. Basically, willpower is resisting


short-term pleasures in the pursuit of long-term goals. Some of us seem to have more


of it than others, but temptation is a powerful disrupter that can sway even the most disciplined among us, often taking advantage of our weakest moments. “Willpower is diff erent for


everyone, and it really runs the gamut for each individual,” says Natalie Dattilo, Ph.D., director of psychology at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “People can have incredible self-


control in one area of their life and very little when it comes to other behaviors.” “We’re not born with willpower


— it’s something we acquire and build upon,” notes psychologist Mary Alvord, Ph.D. “You should hold that longer-


term goal in mind, but break it down into smaller, doable goals. Expect lots of hard work and eff ort, with failures as well as successes along the way.” Here are some tips on how to boost your willpower:


PRACTICE MINDFULNESS “The fi rst step is to commit to improving your willpower,” says Dattilo. “To do that, you have to pay better attention to your own


86 NEWSMAX MAXLIFE | OCTOBER 2021


and Reach Your Goals Start by paying better attention to your behavior, recognizing your triggers and responses. ::


behavior, recognizing your triggers and responses.” One way to practice this is


to spend a week using your nondominant hand for simple tasks, such as eating and brushing your teeth. “This will force you to slow down


and train your brain to pay more attention to what you’re doing,” adds Dattilo. “It will help with all of the goals you set.”


CREATE A SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT


“If you’re trying to get toned and healthy, you don’t want to bake a big batch of chocolate chip cookies,” says Alvord, director of Alvord, Baker & Associates, a psychotherapy practice in Maryland. “That’s setting yourself up for


failure.” Create an environment that


makes it more diffi cult to give in to temptation. If you want to focus more at work, remove distracting clutter from your desk. Rather than baking cookies, have some celery sticks and hummus in the fridge to instantly satisfy that snack attack with something healthy.


PRACTICE SELF-COMPASSION Feeling guilt and shame when you slip up is counterproductive. “It doesn’t motivate us to do better but tends to make us feel worse, and


you may indulge even more to try to make yourself feel better,” Dattilo tells Newsmax. “Be kind to yourself. Admit


your failing and use it as a learning opportunity to understand why you messed up, and you’ll be more likely to get back on track.”


ENGAGE OTHERS You’ll be less likely to let yourself


down if it aff ects others. “You don’t have to do this all


yourself,’ says Alvord. “Set up a team of people you can call for support or to do things with. If you want to start walking a few miles several times a week, set up times to do it with friends.”


DON’T OVERDO IT There is a theory that we have a fi nite amount of willpower and it can get depleted if you deny yourself too much. “I’m not sure there is such a thing


as willpower depletion, but any kind of overcontrol is unsustainable,” notes Dattilo. “The solution is to see things as


a journey versus a destination. Stay in the present and give yourself the opportunity to feel good about the choices you are making.”


GET SOME SLEEP “Sleep is really important for sustaining self-control,” Alvord tells Newsmax. “Sleep restores our brain glucose regulation, and without enough sleep, we don’t think as clearly. “We’re prone to emotional ups


and downs and lose our drive to get certain things done.”


RAFIK©ISTOCK


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