You Can’t Rely on Willpower Alone
Achieve Success Using Other Systems — Your #1 Newsletter for Accelerated Learning
“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal — a commitment to excellence — that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” –Mario Andretti
Don’t Rely on Willpower
Don’t rely on your willpower to accomplish your tasks.
No matter how many articles you read about Elon Musk getting everything done before 3 AM or how you can write a book in a week if you just drink enough Bulletproof Coffee. Do not rely on your willpower to accomplish your goals.
It does not matter if you have the best self-efficacy of anybody you know and can take on almost any task, no matter how big. Do not rely on your willpower to accomplish your goals.
You may have the best system set up to get the highest-value items done in your day. You may schedule in time for deep-work. You may be well-versed in your own psychology and know your own shortcomings. Do not rely on your willpower to accomplish your goals.
Personal development literature that focuses on ways to increase your willpower get the psychology of achievement all wrong. Highly effective people rarely operate at a higher level than you or I because of their willpower.
It’s Friday…
It’s the end of the week. Time to sit back, relax, and achieve a comatose like state for the next two days… right? While it’s all well and good to look forward to your weekends (breaks are absolutely necessary), it’s unhealthy if your only motivator to get through the week is the weekend. Movie days are great! Football Sundays are wonderful. But the incessant desire to remain completely inactive for two days a week, every week, might be an indication that you need to reevaluate your work and personal lives.
Why put your dreams on hold for even two days? Live the life you want to live and work towards the goals that you want to achieve, even if it is a Friday. The world doesn’t stop because the day changes. Why should you stop working towards your Mission?
Friday Finds…
3 Investments to Make in Yourself Today — Do your actions indicate that you value yourself and your goals? Think about how you spend your time. Most of us don’t put in the time and effort necessary to grow beyond our current abilities. Here are three investments you need to make in yourself today.
Your Future Self is The Enemy of Your Best Self — If you really want to improve, you have to make true, life-altering changes. You must stop pursuing things that only help you in the short-term and make a plan that benefits you in the long-term. Here’s how you can overcome your present bias and achieve your best self.
FOMO Isn’t Just Making You Miserable, It’s Also Making You a Follower —
It can be a tricky business, “monetizing” your followers by promoting things for cash, but it’s nothing new. Famous people have been using FOMO to sell random junk for years, just ask George Foreman. They’ve also used FOMO to convince us to do stupid and harmful things. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, stars like John Wayne, Luci Arnaz, and Clark Gable were paid the equivalent of millions to glamorize cigarettes. So, in a sense, celebrity endorsements are as American as apple pie.
