This is optimal living daily episode 11 24 self-discipline willpower by Steve pavlina of Steve pavlina.com, man. I'm just a moloch. Happy Tuesday to you and welcome back or welcome for the first time if you're new here, this is where I simply read to you every single day of the year including weekends and holidays before we get to today's post small business owners wear a lot of hats and while some hats are great others like the filing taxes and running payroll hat. Those are not so great. That's where it Augusto comes in Augusto makes payroll taxes and H are actually easy for small businesses Augusto automatically pays and files your federal state and local taxes so that you don't have to worry about it. Plus they make it easy to add on health benefits even 401ks for your team and you can get direct access to certified EHR experts to sounds like a great way to take care of your business right now. It's a time. We're still early in the year. So don't wait like Gusto make it easier on you I switched over. Urban using it for about a year and I love it as a bonus my listeners get three months free when they run their first payroll. This is one hat you'll be glad you gave up try a demo and see for yourself Augusto.com old that's G you sto.com. Oh LD for now. Let's get right to it as we optimize your life. self-discipline willpower by Steve pavlina of Steve pavlina.com Quote the difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will Vince Lombardi. Willpower such a dirty word these days how many commercials have you seen that attempt to position their products as a substitute for willpower. They begin by telling you that willpower doesn't work and then attempt to sell you something fast and easy like a diet pill or some wacky exercise equipment often, they'll even guarantee and possible results in a dramatically short period of time that's a safe bed because people who lack willpower probably won't take the time to return these useless products, but guess what willpower does work? In order to take full advantage of it. You must learn what it can and cannot do people who say willpower doesn't work or trying to use it in a way that's beyond his capabilities. What is willpower will power is your ability to set a course of action and say engage willpower provides an intensely powerful yet temporary boost think of it as a One-Shot Thruster it burns out quickly, but if directed intelligently it can provide the burst you need to overcome inertia and Create momentum will power is to spearhead of self-discipline to use a World War II analogy will power would be D-Day the Normandy invasion. This is a gigantic battle that turned the tide of the war and got things moving in a New Direction even though it took another year to reach VE Day victory in Europe to make that kind of effort every day of the war would have been impossible willpower is a concentration of force you gather up all your energy and make a massive thrust forward you attack your problem strategically at Their weakest points until they crack allowing you enough room to maneuver deeper into their territory and finish them off. The application of willpower includes the following steps. Choose your objective create a plan of attack and execute the plan with will power. You may take your time implementing steps one and two, but when you get to step 3, you've got to hit it hard and fast, don't try to tackle your problems and challenges in such a way that a high-level will power is required every day willpower is Sustainable, if you attempt to use it for too long, you'll burn out it requires a level of energy that you can maintain only for a short period of time in most cases. The fuel is spent within a matter of days use willpower to create self-sustaining momentum. So if will power can only be used in short powerful bursts then what's the best way to apply it. How do you keep from slipping back into Old patterns? Once the temporary will power blast is over the best way to use willpower is to establish a beachhead. Ted such that further progress can be made with far less effort than is required of the initial thrust. Remember D-Day once the Allies had established a beachhead the road ahead was much easier for them. It was still challenging to be sure especially with a close-quarters fighting among hedgerows in France before the Rhino tanks began plowing through them, but it was a lot easier than trying to maintain the focus energy and coordination of a full-scale beach Invasion every single day for another year. So the proper use of willpower is to establish that that beachhead to permanently change the territory itself such that it's easier to continue moving on use willpower to reduce the ongoing need for such a high level of sustained Force an example. Let's put all of this together into a concrete example suppose. Your objective is to lose 20 pounds you time to go on a diet it takes willpower and you do okay with it the first week, but within a few weeks you falling back into old habits and gained all the weight back you Again with different diets, but the result is still the same. You can't sustain momentum for a long enough to reach your goal weight. That's to be expected though, because willpower is temporary. It's for Sprint's not marathons willpower requires conscious focus and conscious focus is very draining cannot be maintained for long. Something will eventually distract you here's how to tackle that same goal with the proper application of willpower. You accept that you can only apply a short burst of willpower maybe a few days I bet Just after that it's gone. So you better use that will power to alter the territory around you in such a way that maintaining momentum won't be as hard as building it in the first place you need to use your will power to establish a beachhead on the shores of your goal. So you sit down and make a plan. This doesn't require much energy and you can spread the work out over many days. You identify all the various targets you'll need to strike. If you want have a chance of success first all the junk food needs to leave your kitchen including anything of a tendency to Overeat and need to replace it with foods that will help you lose weight like fruits and veggies. Secondly, you know, you'll be tempted to get fast food. If you come home hungry and don't have anything ready to eat. So you decide to precook a week's worth of food in advance each weekend. That way you always have something in the refrigerator. He set aside a block of several hours each weekend buy groceries and cook all your food for the week. Plus you get a decent cook book of healthy recipes create a weight chart and post it on your bathroom wall get a decent scale that I can measure weight and body fat percentage make a list of sample meals five breakfasts five lunches and five dinners and post it on your refrigerator. And so on at this point all of this goes into the written plan, then you execute hard and fast, you could probably implement the whole plan in one day attend your first Weight Watchers meeting and get all the materials Purge the unhealthy food from the kitchen by the new groceries the new cookbook and the new scale post a weight chart in the sample meals. List select recipes and cook a batch of food for the week who by the end of the day you've used your willpower not to die a directly but to establish the conditions. I'll make your diet easier to follow when you wake up the next morning, you'll find your environment dramatically changed in accordance with your plan. Your fridge will be stocked with plenty of precooked healthy food for you to eat. There won't be any junkie problem Foods in your home. You'll be a member of Weight Watchers and will have weekly meetings to attend. You'll have a regular block of time set aside for grocery shopping. Being in food prep, you will still require some discipline to follow your diet, but you've already changed things so much that it won't be nearly as difficult as it would be without these changes don't use willpower to attack your biggest problem directly use willpower to attack the environmental and social obstacles that perpetuate the problem establish a beachhead first and then fortify your position like turning into a habit such as by doing a 30 day challenge have it puts action on autopilot such that very little willpower. Required for ongoing progress allowing you to practically Coast towards your goal. You just listen to The Post titled self-discipline willpower by Steve pavlina of see pavlina.com and don't forget Gusto offers modern easy payroll benefits and HR to small businesses across the country now is a perfect time to start get in touch now and get three months free. When you run your first payroll just go to Augusto.com old that's gu sto.com / o LD they'll do it for today. Thank you for being here. Have a great rest of your day. And I'll see you in the Wednesday show tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.
Steve Pavlina shares his thoughts self-discipline and willpower. Episode 1124: Self-Discipline: Willpower by Steve Pavlina on Creating Habits to Achieve Success Steve Pavlina is widely recognized as one of the most successful personal development bloggers on the Internet, with his work attracting more than 100 million visits to his website, StevePavlina.com. He has written more than 1300 articles and recorded many audio programs on a broad range of self-help topics, including productivity, relationships, and spirituality. Steve has been quoted as an expert by the New York Times, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, the Los Angeles Daily News, Self Magazine, The Guardian, and countless other publications. He's also a frequent guest on popular podcasts and radio shows. Facebook Group and Join the Ol' Family to get your Free Gifts! Gusto is making payroll, benefits, and HR easy for small businesses. Get 3 months free once you run your first payroll with our link: Gusto.com/OLD  ---   Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/optimal-living-daily/support 