“ … (have you ever been running, and decided you need to run a little faster … and then you WILLED it and it happened; have you ever tried to open a jar of pickles and decided you need to squeeze or turn a little harder, but not until you WILLED it did it happen; etc.) Our WILL is important in everything…….we just need to WILL ourselves more or harder.” Darwin Allen
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Disclaimer:
This narrative is not about WILLPOWER … as in the ability to avoid eating donuts, fried mozzarella, double-fudge sundaes, etc. WILLPOWER in this sense – as in stopping ourselves from doing self-indulgent but deleterious things – doesn’t work! As long as we give ourselves unlimited choices, we will consistently choose what “pleases” us over that which is “good” for us.
It’s about WILL POWER … the ability to WILL ourselves beyond our comfort zone and beyond just “letting life happen”.
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Unfortunately, engaging the WILL is something we generally relegate
to when there are no options, like:
… when what we’re doing isn’t working
… when what we’re doing doesn’t “cut it”
… when our back is up against the wall
“Man is a strange animal:
He cannot read the handwriting on the wall
until his back is up against it.”
Adlai Stevenson
So, it seems we would be well served to get the WILL engaged more routinely and right up front … part of Total Intentionality. What if we could operate in WILL POWER MODE all the time?
The Toyota Prius Hybrid has three different power modes available:
EV = Electric Vehicle (only the electric motor engaged)
Eco = Economy (electric motor predominant, but gas engaged as needed)
Power = Full Engagement (Both electric and gas motors running full out)
Some perspective helps. Nature has endowed us with the default wiring to conserve energy whenever and wherever possible (EV mode) – which, “only being ‘human’”, as we are – we are accustomed to taking to preposterous extremes. Adrenalin is the antidote when emergencies emerge. But adrenalin gets over-used when we take too much liberty on the energy-conserving side of the equation. And then we get all stressed out trying to catch up! At that point, our WILL is irrelevant. We merely defer to survival instinct and have to burn the candle at both ends.
Anecdotal reports of absolute and unbridled WILL Power applied in unusually emergent situations exist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hysterical_strength
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/extreme-fear-superhuman/m
By sheer FORCE OF WILL – or perhaps by SHEER FORCE OF WON’T … as in “failure is not an option!” – “nature” and “unusual circumstances” can bend and focus the power of WILL in awesome ways.
It often happens in sports. Some underdogs judiciously “prime” themselves to overcome even the longest odds. So it happened that an unranked Florida team soundly and embarrassingly beat the number 4 ranked Kentucky Wildcats by 22 points in normal season play in early February, 2017. [Twenty days later, Kentucky – WANTENLY and WILLFULLY looking for revenge, while defending their home territory – beat Florida by 10.]
Unlikely Champions do it … rising from hopelessly dismal prospects to the top of a field or profession.
So the reality is that we CAN rise if we have the WILL to rise, but more often than not we don’t WILL it. We simply “take life as it comes”.
Sometimes our WILL can be truncated by a sense of unworthiness or censure from the “tribe” for even giving the appearance of trying to stretch beyond our “Class”. (Check out “Five Myths About Class in America”.)
Self-Talk can be important in getting WILL power engaged: Like … “Don’t be such a wimp”! Or … “You CAN do it!” Or … “I will not be denied achievement of this GOAL!”
Knowing what it takes, and having the tools and HOW-TO experience to do what needs to be done [otherwise called “Preparation”], provides a strong underpinning for successful … even indomitable … WILL Power engagement. The rest is sheer determination not to fail or be left behind and perseverance to see it through. [And don’t discount the “Bandwagon Effect” of significant others being drawn to support an all-out effort made toward an ascendant purpose.] WILL it done – no excuses – and you will POWER through! Quartermaster
