Where there's a will there's a better way - 7 tips to extend your Will-Power

Are you charging up your willpower so that you’re on full charge and ready to go on your latest Diet on Monday Morning? That’s what we all tend to do and we promise ourselves that this time it’s going to be different!

Decisions Decisions.....
But just like our Smart Phones, the will-power ‘charge’ is soon depleted. Every time we need to make a food related decision we use it’s battery power and very soon it is chewed up. When we stand at the café counter telling ourselves “must order salad, must order salad” while trying to ignore the smell of chips and schnitzel wafting up our nose, the battery % drops as if we have 50 Apps running simultaneously
When we hit that afternoon slump and stand in front of the office vending machine muttering don’t buy chocolate, I shouldn’t, I really shouldn’t……. that charge is drained down another few levels
When we go out for dinner with friends, and we look at that menu………blip……….battery dead and we go nuts ordering saying “stuff it, why not!”… will-power gone.
Maybe your battery lasts a day, maybe 2 or 3 or maybe it’s super long life and can stretch longer… but sooner or later that Willpower charge will run flat.
So how to make it last long enough to make your healthy lifestyle changes switch from fad to habit?

Avoid the Drainers....
Well one good tip is to plan to avoid the drain of temptation by being prepared. Get organized, if you’re busy shop online, cook enough so that you have leftovers for lunch the next day; make sure you plan what you’re going to eat during the day in advance. This then cuts out the need to make decisions about what you’re eating on the run, every decision means you are testing and draining your will power battery, just like you drain your smartphone battery when browse your Facebook page, as your mind browses for choices those temptations keep jumping in, and blocking them is the opposite to energy efficient!
So how else can you stretch out the willpower long enough to make changes permanent?

What can you do?
Well you can top it up by following the 6 suggestions below:

1. Don’t go on a diet – diets don’t work! Don’t think of positive change as giving up something, but rather gaining something. Make a decision to change your life for the better by taking better care of yourself. Then you don’t need to extend your will power at all, because you don’t need will power to live your best life, only if you perceive that you are denying yourself something. Success comes from accepting that your decision is right for you and it is going create the you that you want to be!
2. Practice mindfulness, this is restorative and helps close down all those background Apps the mind is running to help it run more efficiently.
3. Practice self-compassion – stop that negative, critical inner voice in it’s tracks every time and make a point to be kind to yourself several times a day every day. The kinder you are to yourself the less you need to look for external means of comfort.
4. Be grateful – wake up and think of 3 things that you’re grateful for. It’s good for your brain and trains your brain to search for positives. Positive thinking makes for a happier day and stops those “I need something to cheer me up” junk food frenzies.
5. Connect with people, family, friends, make an effort to say hello to someone or chat to the person next to you in a que. Human nature drives us to seek connection.
6. Exercise, go for a walk, go to the gym, get moving and let the brain release endorphins – very energising!
7. Set realistic goals for yourself, having goals is an important component to feeling as though you’re living your best life.

Turbo charge those changes...
*If you feel that your habits are deeply entrenched and you need help to change them, I can help. Clinical Hypnotherapy combined with NLP allows you to relax, focus and use the power of your own imagination to implement changes at the deep level of your subconscious where beliefs are held. Your subconscious is the Database where all of your beliefs and habitual patterns are stored. If you are holding on to old patterns, self-limiting and self-defeating beliefs I can help you to update them so that you can produce more positive outcomes for yourself.
If you’re interested give me a call, I’m happy to sit with you for a 30 minute free consultation to design a program tailored to your specific requirements. Call me on 0435 923 817.
Contact Georgina at Hypfocus Therapies is located in Mentone, South East Melbourne

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​* Results may vary