I remember a couple of years ago I used to get very little sleep. And I really struggled with making the right decisions. I’d be running on four hours of sleep, and when I was presented with something healthy to eat and an unhealthy choice, it was really hard for me to pick the healthy one.
And now a couple of years later, I get plenty of sleep and it’s so much easier to make the better decisions. So whether you need to refrain from eating something unhealthy, or you need to actually do something productive like working on your project, getting plenty of sleep will make it so much easier, and I can attest to this from my own experience. So the first big idea for strong willpower is to get adequate amounts of sleep.
When you don’t get enough sleep you’re prone to all kinds of stress, and cravings, and temptation. Research has shown that being sleep deprived is very similar to being mildly intoxicated which is probably not the best time to be making decisions. And too little sleep has been shown to cause problems that mimic those associated with ADHD.
So getting enough sleep is absolutely one of the most important things you can do for your willpower. Now just like you go to the gym to build muscle and get stronger, you can do the same thing for your brain. And the activity that trains your brain is meditation.
It makes your brain grow denser, packing in more grey matter just like a muscle bulking up from exercise. And research has shown that those who meditate really do have more grey matter in their prefrontal cortex. And the prefrontal cortex is the area associated with decision making and willpower.
It’s the part of the brain that gets you to say no to something unhealthy, and it’s the part of the brain that gets you to get up and start working on your project. And the impact of meditation is fascinating. Even after only a few weeks of being consistent with it, we can already observe the brain structure physically changing.
You don’t need to meditate for hours either. Even a very short period of meditation is effective. You can start with five minutes of meditation focusing on your breath and move up to ten, fifteen, or however long you like, but it’s much better to be consistent and do only five minutes than be inconsistent.
So I would personally highly recommend starting with five minutes if you’re just starting out. I also get a ton of emails and messages, and what I used to do before was wake up and check all that stuff first thing in the morning. And I would spend hours doing that, and then when it was time for me to actually do creative work, I was just completely exhausted.
And this is because willpower’s like a muscle. It gets tired. It’s kind of like going to the gym to deadlift, and instead deadlifting first, you decide it’s a good idea to run on the treadmill for two hours first and then deadlift.
So by the time you’re done running, you probably won’t have the energy to deadlift, and if you somehow do, it’s not going to be the most effective workout. And that’s exactly how the brain works too. You start out with your willpower for the day and then it just keeps getting depleted and depleted.
So one of the most important things I’ve done is to wake up and start with my creative work. I never check any of the messages first thing in the morning anymore because I know my willpower’s going to get depleted. And I know so many people who wake up and go straight to Facebook or do something else that isn’t important.
Don’t do that. You’ll deplete your willpower, and then you won’t be able to do what’s actually important. Instead, wake up and do that important thing first before your willpower gets depleted.
So those are the three of my favorite ideas from the book that I’ve found to be really effective in my life. And to recap them briefly… 1. Make sure you’re not sleep deprived.
Not getting enough sleep is one of the biggest enemies to your willpower. 2. Just like you workout to build up muscle, you can meditate to build up your prefrontal cortex.
3. Willpower’s like a muscle. It gets tired.
Don’t wake up and get on Facebook first thing in the morning or do anything else that isn’t important, instead do the most important thing first before your willpower gets depleted.
