Willpower is Overrated

by Gene Anger

Does it seem like your willpower is non-existent? Are you having difficulty eliminating bad habits, such as smoking or overeating? If you are discouraged with your apparent lack of willpower, this article may be the most important information you could get your hands on.

Tests done on human subjects prove we think in six areas of our brains simultaneously. While we are asleep, our minds still function in five of these areas. This means our conscious thinking is actually only 1/6th of our brain power and the non-conscious portion is 5/6th.

Trying to achieve success or make personal changes is like having a tug-of-war with your non-conscious beliefs, thoughts, and habits. One of you is pulling for self improvement, change, and positive outcomes. On the other end of the rope five of you have hidden, pre-programmed subconscious beliefs keeping you stuck right where you are now.

Which side do you think will win? It’s obvious your pre-conditioned subconscious programming will be victorious.

No matter how strong your willpower, more than likely you will fail since scientific research has proven the odds are against your success. However, don’t give up hope just yet. There are simple solutions, as I will explain.

Exerting Self-Control Creates Weakness

The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 74, 1998) published the results of an interesting experiment. Just one act of self-control depletes your ability to have self-control in another unrelated area.

For example, when subjects were told not to eat chocolates sitting right in front of them, their persistence in puzzle solving deteriorated. When they were told to suppress an emotional reaction to a movie, they had problems solving a solvable anagram.

This experiment proves that trying to effect positive change using willpower is limited by our conscious ability to consistently focus on only one (or two at best) areas of life.

You are not a “failure” simply because you broke a New Year’s resolutions or can’t seem to get past unwanted negative behavior. You are, after all, being human and operating with the same limitations as pretty much everyone else.

How To Accomplish Goals Without Willpower

Imagine automobile traffic speeding along an eight-lane super highway that funnels into a one-lane city street. Can you see the traffic backed up, sitting idle on the super highway, trying to get access to the single lane city street?

Good – now you see exactly what happens inside our brains. The subconscious is processing information over 200,000 times faster than the conscious mind. However the conscious mind, like a single lane street, slows everything down to a crawl.

It’s great you want to make changes in your life. However, unless you change the subconscious programming to focus on the same goals as your conscious desires, you are effectively reducing progress down to one lane. To accelerate achievements (in any area of your life) you need to initiate change at the source – your subconscious mind. Then willpower is not even an issue.

When programmed with new beliefs, the non-conscious mind will work 24/7 to make these new beliefs become your reality. Hypnosis and/or self-hypnosis has been a blessing in helping me eliminate unwanted habits to make permanent changes. Another amazingly effective tool is visualization.

But understand this: your old habits and beliefs created strong neural pathways that repetition has reinforced. Various “triggers” can initiate your thought patterns to travel along these pathways, resurrecting old beliefs you believed to be vanquished. You therefore need to remain persistent if you plan to successfully remove or neutralize self-limiting beliefs.

Affirmations are also a great way to change the mental programming. However, there are a few tricks you need to learn before they are a viable technique.

Do you still think willpower is the way to go? How has it served you so far? Give yourself a fighting chance and begin using some of the mind tools which have been proven to work.

You want your non-conscious mind working in harmony with your conscious desires. Hypnosis, visualization, and affirmations are three of the many effective techniques available to re-program the subconscious. In today’s busy world, willpower is not a practical option for self improvement as it is unlikely you will be able to consistently remain focused on one specific goal until it is achieved.

About the Author

Gene Anger has a passion for self improvement which led him to helping others overcome self-limiting beliefs and self-sabotage. You can connect with Gene at A Free Self Help Tutorial.

February 17, 2010  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: self improvement  No Comments

Freewriting, Abraham-Hicks, and Reincarnation

Years ago, I learned the process of freewriting from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. At the time (late 1990s) I did the freewriting exercise daily for about nine months. Then I stopped. I just found it irritating, boring, and annoying. Over the years I made attempts to return to regular freewriting but never stuck with it.

Now, I’m playing with freewriting while listening to Abraham-Hick’s Law of Attraction Directly from Source. I pick up a phrase from the audio, write it down, and see where it takes me. My first interesting musing to come out of the process was about reincarnation and how I feel that word doesn’t accurately capture the process of a spirit having multiple physical lives. Here’s what I wrote:

To reincarnate implies to make over or make again. But we are not being made over – it’s one continuous experience – kind of like moving through the current physical life is a process, moving though all the physical lives of the spirit is a process – not a being made again or made over.

Now, I’m not a Buddhist and can’t tell you exactly how Buddhists view reincarnation. But I find thinking of my spirit as one continuous presence moving from body to body quite comforting.

February 12, 2010  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: personal, spiritual growth  No Comments

How to Create a Web Site that Makes Money

I started this blog as a way to post interesting information without being concerned whether I made money from it (although I’d like to). However, I have created two Web sites specifically for the purpose of making money: Massage Therapy Information and DIY Home Tips.

Here’s a little about what I’ve learned in the process of creating those sites (and several sites that no longer exist). The most important thing to know about how to create a Web site that makes money is that you need to follow a process. This process needs to attract lots of targeted visitors, give them information they want, and then lead them to buy your products or services or click your affiliate links and buy that merchant’s products.

Create Content

Choose a focused topic for your Web site and create lots of content around it. Most people on the Web are looking for information first. Do keyword research to find out what people are searching for, and write keyword-focused content pages.

Build Traffic

Until your Web site has traffic, it’s pointless to try to make money from the site. Building keyword-focused content pages related to your Web site topic will bring free traffic from the search engines. You can also get your site listed in directories, write articles for publication on other sites (that include a link back to your site), and exchange links with related sites.

Presell

Gain the trust of your visitors by giving them relevant, original information. If you start by trying to sell people something, it’s likely to turn them off.

Monetize

Now that you have the trust of your visitors, convert these warm visitors into income. For example, if you are selling pin cushions, you write articles about every aspect of pin cushions that also include links to where people can buy pin cushions.

Use a System

Although the above four steps are what you need to do, they obviously can be quite involved. Get a good system to help you. The system I use and highly recommend is Site Build It! (Yes, that’s an affiliate link, and I make a commission if you buy.)

The beauty of Site Build It! is that it is far more than Web hosting – it is a complete Web-business-building system that starts from step one and leads you through the entire process of building a successful Web site. Take a look at some Site Build It! case studies to see what the process has done for other people.


February 9, 2010  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Internet  No Comments

Make the Law of Attraction Work for You

How do you know if the law of attraction is working in your life? It’s always working. What’s in your life is a match to what you are vibrating. The trick (or Secret, if you will) is to learn how to vibrate to match what you want.

Everyone has a slightly different take on how you can make the law of attraction work for you. Here are some options.

Joe Vitale’s Five Steps from The Attractor Factor:

  1. Know what you don’t want.

  2. Decide what you do want
  3. Clear all negative or limiting beliefs.
  4. Feel what it would be like to have, do, or be what you want.
  5. Let go of attachment as you act on your intuitive impulses and let the results manifest.

Deanna Davis’ Three Steps from The Law of Attraction in Action:

  1. Choose your state. Consciously decide how you want to feel emotionally and where you want to direct your attention.

  2. Set your intention. Make a decision to think and act in a way that will create the outcomes you want.
  3. Take inspired action.

Denise Coates’ Five Steps from Feel It Real!:

  1. State your desire.

  2. Ask yourself what feelings you might have if you already had that desire.
  3. Get into the feeling place of already having that desire.
  4. Stay in that feeling place as long as possible each day.
  5. Decide that imagining these good feelings is its own reward, knowing that as you enjoy the feeling for their own sake, the Universe will deliver your desires to you by the Law of Attraction.

Principles from The Teachings of Abraham and Money, and the Law of Attraction (Esther and Jerry Hicks):

  • Every subject is really two subjects: having and not having. If you focus on the not having, as in “I don’t have enough money, I want more,” you are pushing money away from you.

  • You are where you are. Always reach for an upstream thought, that is, a thought that helps you feel even slightly better than you feel in the moment.
  • Your feelings attract, regardless of what words you are using. For example, saying “I want more money” while feeling poor, only attracts more poorness.
  • No matter where you go, you take yourself with you. If you leave a situation without cleaning up your vibration, you will only recreate the situation in another place.

Read, read, read to imprint the principles in your subconscious mind and find the specifics that work best for you. In addition to the books mentioned above, some other recommended books are

February 3, 2010  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: law of attraction, self improvement  No Comments

Happiness is a Choice

Happiness is a choice, but you can definitely do things to make that choice easier and your life more fulfilling. Here are a few suggestions:

  • Surround yourself with happy people, and their positive energy will affect you in a positive way. Social networks and relationships are important.

  • Be thankful for what you have.
  • Watch less news. The media feeds us mostly negative thoughts.
  • Encourage inner peace by connecting to what you find spiritual.
  • Communicate your feelings, affections, friendship, and passion to people around you. Get and give hugs. Positive physical contact with friends, loved ones, and even pets, is an instant pick-me-up. Laugh everyday.
  • Learn something new each day. Learning is a joyful exercise that expands your horizons.
  • Take care of yourself physically. It’s much easier to be happy when you are eating well, exercising, and getting enough rest. As much as possible, avoid exposure to negative elements such as loud noises, toxins, and hazardous places.
  • Think positively. If you notice yourself having a negative thought, detach from it, witness it, and don’t follow it. Be aware of any negative thoughts you hold about yourself – challenge them, are they really true?
  • Focus on the present moment. Happiness can only happen in the now.

Suggested reading: Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out

January 31, 2010  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: self improvement  No Comments

Developing a Millionaire Mind

A millionaire mind is one that is programmed for success (financial success and success in other areas of life). Most of us have limiting beliefs and thoughts that keep us from sharing the abundance that is part of the universe. According to T. Harv Eker, author of Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, rich people have the following beliefs.

  • I create my own life. (No victims here.)
  • I play the money game to win. (Playing not to lose is a sure-fire way to lose.)
  • I am committed to a rich life.
  • I think big.
  • I focus on opportunities. (If you focus on obstacles, you only see more obstacles.)
  • I admire other rich and successful people. (If you don’t admire rich people, you mind will never let you be one, because don’t you want to admire yourself?)
  • I associate with positive, successful people. (I once read that your net worth is likely the average of the net worth of the ten people closest to you.)
  • I am willing to promote myself and my value.
  • I am bigger than my problems.
  • I am an excellent receiver. (When someone gives you a compliment, the only appropriate response is “thank you.’)
  • I choose to get paid based on my results. (Working for an hourly wage rarely leads to wealth.)
  • I think “both.”
  • I live in a world of abundance.
  • I focus on my net worth (not income).
  • I manage my money well.
  • I have money work hard for me.
  • I act in spite of fear.
  • I constantly learn and grow.

At first, these thoughts may seem unnatural, but as with everything, you get better with practice. Find ways to get support in your new ways of thinking. Also, consider Eker’s Millionaire Mind Intensive.

January 29, 2010  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: abundance and prosperity  No Comments

Tips for a Fulfilling Life

Only you can define what a fulfilling life is for you. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. We have a limited time in physical form, it makes sense to enjoy it.

  • Find a purpose for your life. Some people have an obvious purpose in life, but if you don’t, pick one and go with it. And remember that your purpose can change as you change.
  • Know your values. Make a list your values and prioritize them. Check your purpose and goals against your values. If they don’t align, you know you are on the wrong track. Live with integrity.
  • Take care of yourself. Eat well, exercise, get plenty of sleep, and laugh everyday. Have a healthy perspective of yourself and know what you need. If you don’t take care of yourself first, you are in no position to help anyone else.
  • Listen to your heart. Know your passions. If you can clear away the clutter and noise from outside of yourself, you know who you are and what you need to have a fulfilling life. Express yourself authentically.
  • Serve others in a way that nourishes you. When you are true to who you are and living your purpose, giving back acknowledges the fact that we are all interconnected.
  • Continue to learn and grow. Replace old beliefs that are no longer useful to you. Create new possibilities for your life.

January 28, 2010  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: self improvement  No Comments