There is only one person capable of limiting your own growth: yourself
Every venture begins from a vision, a purpose, a dream, a desire. This is what motivates us, what put us in movement. But, what is the motivation? From the linguistic point of view it is an abstraction, it is not tangible at all but we can translate it by saying it is the fuel, the energy we need to cover the distance between your present and where you want to go, your journey toward that vision, dream or desire.
What do we need in addition to motivation to start this journey? WILL.
The will is closely related to the motivation.
The will is the capacity of human beings that makes us do things intentionally, in spite of the difficulties, setbacks and mood.
Our will operates mainly in two ways:
– Spontaneously when we feel motivated, convinced and excited to do something, like going out with someone, start a hobby, organize a meeting, go to the gym, undertake a project.
– Consciously, every time we must strive to make things: to finish the essay despite the tiredness, to study for that course we don’t like or it is difficult for us, to organize the things that are out of place, to get up of bed despite of the sleepiness, etc. They all represent the purest form of the exercise, because we decide to act despite of the drawbacks or pitfalls.
How does the will manifest itself?
BY DOING
A lack of will is evident every time we delay the beginning of a task; in our activities, when we prioritize those that are easier instead of the important and urgent, or whenever we wait to have enough strength to act. The lack of will has various symptoms including laziness or comfort, two real enemies that constantly obstruct our actions.
I read an article in which the author compared the will with any of the muscles of our body: these become weaker as they stop moving. The same applies to the will: every situation that requires effort is a great opportunity to strengthen it, otherwise the will is numbed which translates into a lack of character, irresponsibility, laziness, inconsistency…
Everybody has gone through this situation of lack of will at least once, and I’m sure everybody has also had moments in our lives in which we had will since it is a quality inherent to being. Reliving these past willpower situations is like living them right now, which helps us to exercise it. Remember that the brain doesn’t distinguish what is real from what is imagined.
Why should we develop the will?
The will is first needed to DECIDE and then to PERSEVERE, which is why we should strengthen and increase it till it becomes and organized skill. As Emiliano Dominguez highlighted in this Blog, you must have an attitude that allows you to generate ideas auspiciously. The will is an essential attitude to accomplish our goals.
Therefore, in the will process we can distinguish four phases:
- To know the goal we want to achieve: It must be clear, well formulated and focused. In general, dispersion is a usual enemy for the realization of the goal.
- To have the motivation or enthusiasm for something attractive that pushes us to work and to achieve the target or goal. In this phase I would like to include the journey: make the journey something valuable, enjoyable.
- The careful analysis of the means and/or resources available for this journey. It is very valuable to ask yourself these questions: Will it pay off? Is it worth to strive for that project, or that improvement in the personality?
- The fourth phase is the decision of achieving that goal or desire. Daniel Marquis once said, La cuarta fase es la decisión de conseguir ese deseo o meta. Daniel Marquis dijo:
“The postponement is to keep up with the past”
Using the postponement as a way of life prevents the Maker from advancing in its evolution.
There is no endeavor that can be carried out successfully if we do not undertake in ourselves first. It is therefore very important getting rid of the past, being connected with the present and thus visualizing the future to generate will, motivation, make the right decisions, and clean dysfunctional emotions and inconsistencies.
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And, as Martin Luther King Jr said, “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” Which would be, otherwise, the best way to undertake?**
