Eat right. Lose weight. Exercise. Practice gratitude. Save more. Find love. Volunteer.
Every year the gyms are packed in January, but by March you have your own row of treadmills. We all have observed this. Unfortunately, I’ve seen it from both the still at the gym and the back to the couch potato sides. Why is it the things we want so much are so hard to get? The short answer iswillpower. Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney wrote the book on it: Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength.
This book is so interesting I couldn’t put it down. It is full of scientific studies backing up some very interesting conclusions. There were so many studies I was wondering how any college student makes it to class rather than participate in a research study. The good news is all those college students have something to teach their elders- willpower is like a muscle and can be strengthened by continuous small exercises of self- restraint.
Researchers Mark Muraven, Roy Baumeister and Dianne Tice discovered that having the subject work on posture (forming a good habit) was far more effective at increasing willpower than working on maintaining a positive attitude. Turns out that after two weeks of exercising self restraint, the subjects increased their willpower stamina. Think of turning your 5k run into a 10k in only two weeks.
This sounds good, but how to move from lab to life is a good question. I’m testing out a few methods. My favorite so far is Habits Pro, an iPad app. You can enter any number of habits you’d like to form. Mine range from the mundane- make bed, take vitamins- to the sublime- use BioGenesis tools to create and send 10 minutes of reiki to my students. I know the cats have appreciated me keeping up with their box.
There are two features that make this app a success for me. With the app closed, there is a red badge in the upper right hand corner that tells me how many more tasks I have left (though many days I’d appreciate a green badge saying how many I finished instead). Also, as each habit is checked off either yes (big green checkmark) or no (big red x), there is immediate feedback. The feeling of a gold star in the copy book is great!
