How to develop strong-willed personality traits

What is will and how does a strong-willed person differ from a weak-willed person? I became interested in this question when my younger sister began to often skip school lessons and stopped attending the rhythmic gymnastics sports section. She explained this by not wanting to waste time.

For her, relaxation and doing nothing on social networks were more attractive and useful than studying and sports. Today I will tell you what volitional personality traits are, why they are needed and how to develop them. It's never too late to train your will, but it's best to start doing it in childhood.

The will of man

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Psychology considers the volitional qualities of an individual as a set of necessary qualities to achieve set goals. The human will is most clearly manifested in:

determination;
discipline;
persistence;
strategicity.

These character qualities are based on the will of a person, which psychologists consider as a kind of mental habit or its special state.

Note! Willpower must be trained like the muscles of the body.

However, just willpower to achieve your goals is not enough; another component must be present - willpower or inflexibility. Willpower and resilience form the volitional sphere of personality, which reflects the mental state of the individual.

How does willpower manifest itself? This is the ability to quickly mobilize the psyche to realize what is planned. Why the psyche and not the body? Because it is mental efforts that play the main role: they are called intention. If the intention to do something is clearly formed, then the body obeys the volitional impulse and obediently fulfills its plan.

If the intention is not clearly formed (the person has not figured out whether he needs to do this or not), then the body will show passivity or will dictate its terms. And the body’s set of desires is always the same - to relax, eat deliciously, sleep. The body tends to do nothing. Only a stimulus - a strong interest in something - can motivate him to action. It could be hunger, a desire to attract attention, or a desire to earn money to realize a dream. Without stimulus, the body will be passive and inert.

What is weakness of will? This is especially noticeable when a person stops halfway or gives up at the first obstacle on the way to the goal. A weak will is also trained if parents indulge the child’s whims and do not react to frequent changes in mood. If a child is controlled by the desire “I want it or I don’t want it,” then his will is not trained. Such a child will have a very hard time in life, which requires a tempered will and strong character.

Important! To cultivate willpower in a child, you need to instill in him the skill of bringing his plans to completion and the ability to overcome obstacles on the way to the goal. The desire to succeed is a necessary quality of a person’s character.

What is the manifestation of willpower? It manifests itself in the ability to maintain a set goal, not deviate from the chosen path and enjoy the achieved result. It is the pleasure of what has been achieved that is the incentive for the development of strong-willed qualities.

Note! Willpower can be compared to endurance.

Most often, a person does not have enough stamina to complete the work he has started. He either loses interest halfway through, or lacks patience, or laziness rears its head. Therefore, endurance must be trained, as well as willpower. Willpower is the urge to action, and endurance is responsible for the implementation of plans. There are many easy-going people, but few of them can go all the way to the end and get results.

What is will

Self-control (willpower) is a person’s ability to respond correctly to any internal conflict. All people are subject to various momentary weaknesses, often not entirely useful and correct. Only those who have sufficiently developed discipline are able to fight these urges and bring their ideas to life.

An example is the desire to have a snack in the middle of the night or buy a fatty pie instead of a healthy snack. We understand that this is wrong, but we are often unable to overcome ourselves. As a result, harm is done to the body, and we are tormented by remorse.

Controlling our own impulses is how we differ significantly from animals. If you don’t train it, then there is a chance to harm not only yourself, but also those around you. It is the importance and methods of training willpower that will be discussed in this article. You will find a lot of useful tips and understand why it is so important to say “no” to yourself in time.

Classification of volitional qualities

Psychologists distinguish two types (subtypes) of human volitional qualities:

primary;
systemic.

Primary volitional qualities are given to us from birth, systemic ones are formed in the process of socialization of the individual, that is, in the process of integration into society. However, primary volitional qualities are lost with age, so they need to be restored through training.

Primary volitional qualities are:

energy;
patience;
self-control;
courage.

Energy manifests itself well in young children. They are always positive, everything is interesting and exciting to them: the world around them is painted in bright colors. That is, they always have a motivation for action - knowledge of the world around them. An adult needs to activate this motivation, specifically tune himself to a positive outcome and mobilize internal resources (energy to achieve the goal).

Patience is the ability to painstakingly and purposefully achieve what is planned. Young children sometimes demonstrate miracles of patience when they engage in activities prohibited by their parents (dismantling toys for parts, destroying their mother’s cosmetics, etc.). A small child will definitely complete the job he has started - destroying his mother’s creams, etc. An adult does not always want to patiently finish what he started (in the absence of visible results), but in the presence of a powerful incentive it is quite possible. However, patience should not be confused with passivity: they are different things.

Self-control is manifested when a person continues to complete the work he has begun, despite unfavorable external circumstances. Self-control takes control of any emotions so that they do not interfere with the implementation of your plans. But fear, panic (everything is lost) or apathy (hands give up) can interfere. A strong-willed person stubbornly pursues his chosen course, confident in the success of his enterprise. However, self-control should not be confused with stupidity and stubbornness: it is expressed in the stability of the emotional background.

Courage is overcoming irrational fears on the way to a goal. Why are fears called irrational? Because they are imaginary and far-fetched. They don’t really exist, but a person can easily imagine and come up with any fear. In addition to irrational fears, there are also very real ones - misunderstanding of others, obstacles and condemnation of competitors, outright lies and even a threat to life. A strong-willed person knows how to overcome all fears on the chosen path and steadily moves towards the goal. However, courage should not be confused with extravagance, recklessness and unjustified risk.

Systemic volitional qualities are always associated with a moral component; they are developed under the influence of society. These qualities characterize a person as a social unit:

determination;
persistence;
integrity;
initiative;
determination;
strategicity;
self-sufficiency.

Purposefulness presupposes the ability to set a goal and achieve it through legal means. This is a very important character quality that allows you to survive in society and achieve a certain social status.

Persistence helps you move towards your chosen goal, without deviating from the path and without giving up at the first failure. A persistent person can devote years to his chosen goal in order to subsequently enjoy the result achieved. Persistence is well trained in sports sections.

Integrity is the quality of a social person. This is loyalty to one’s views and beliefs, the ability to defend one’s own point of view and not succumb to provocations. Integrity is closely related to a person’s ideological position.

Initiative is also a quality of a social person. This is the ability to generate ideas for transforming the world around us, showing concern for life in society and the desire to improve social life. Initiative is inherent in people with leadership qualities.

Decisiveness is a quality necessary to accomplish a given task. Determination can only be learned through practice. For example, many schoolchildren are afraid to answer at the blackboard - determination is required. Determination is also manifested in the ability to quickly make decisions without fear of consequences. However, decisiveness is sometimes confused with impulsiveness, which only brings harm.

Impulsivity is characterized by greater emotional intensity, in contrast to decisiveness. Serious decisions should be made with reason, not emotions. Also, decisiveness should not be confused with haste: this is not fussy behavior, but the speed of transition from decision to action. While an indecisive person hesitates and thinks, a determined person achieves his goal.

Strategicality is also a quality of a social person. In other words, this is a strict sequence of actions on the chosen path and the absence of chaos in thoughts. A reasonable person will never begin to act without a clearly thought-out plan, and he also foresees (plans) the result of his efforts. For example, an architect first sees a building with his inner eye, and then implements it in a project. However, being strategic does not imply rigidity of thinking: plans can be adjusted by a changing situation.

Self-sufficiency presupposes independence in all its manifestations. This is the ability to live according to one's own beliefs and principles. A self-sufficient person does not need outside help; he can make decisions quite independently and implement them in practice. In other words, this is the ability to act autonomously and independently.

How to develop determination?

The easiest way to develop determination is to take action, casting aside all doubts. Experience the first failure and success, after which all subsequent decisions and their implementation will be easy.

Start small

Get a notebook and write down your plans. Put pluses on completed tasks, minuses on the rest. Have you ever attended a driving school, but failed to pass the traffic police exams? Get it done! Don’t let it scare you that you’ll have to go to the race track again and spend money.

Write down the goal in your notebook:

bringing the job started to completion,
obtaining rights.

Take action!

Don't put things off until better times. Don’t look for reasons for lack of time, money, health, or ideas. Know that such a time will never come. New things will appear closer to the deadline, old ones will fade into the background and remain forever unrealized.

There is not a single entrepreneur who is confident in bankruptcy and invests tens of thousands of dollars in his own business.

A business plan calculated to the smallest detail does not provide a 100% guarantee. Eccentric entrepreneurs risk all their accumulated money, while less risky ones have developed a clear rule: do not invest more than 10% of their capital in business.

Read further: How to write a business plan: instructions and structure

This will help you not to become disheartened in case of failure, and increase your wealth if you are successful in business. But they are all not afraid to act because they have determination. Therefore, the main rule for developing determination is to act!

Methods for developing volitional qualities

A person’s will is trained in the process of life while overcoming various obstacles. It is the ability to overcome obstacles along the way that shapes a person’s volitional sphere. The survival instinct, which is a stimulus to action, helps train the will. But as you grow older, a social stimulus is added to the survival instinct - the praise of parents, colleagues, teachers. That is, education and its requirements come into play. Education begins to form moral qualities, on the basis of which the systemic will is trained.

Methods of strengthening volitional qualities:

visiting the sports section;
visiting interest groups (art, photography);
increasing the complexity of the process;
analysis of failures and success.

It is necessary to strengthen the will from childhood. It will be useful for a child to attend a sports section, since collective overcoming of obstacles is a huge incentive to action. Children love to copy each other, so the results and achievements of others will encourage their own achievements.

Interest groups also cultivate strong-willed qualities. For example, when drawing a picture, you need to be patient and persistent. Even a hobby contributes to the development of will, because many hobbies require the same patient participation in the process as the sports section.

Note! To prevent your child from giving up drawing or other activities, praise him more often and do not set too difficult tasks.

An adult can strengthen his willpower through exercise on sports equipment. Strengthens the will and decision to lead a healthy lifestyle or get rid of any bad habit.

Remember that burdening yourself with difficult, impossible tasks is a recipe for failure. You should set small achievable goals and implement them. Completing a task brings pleasure, and pleasure is an incentive to complete the next task. From simple to complex - the best advice for strengthening strong-willed qualities.

Debriefing is an important milestone on the path to strengthening your will. You need to calmly analyze why you couldn’t do something. It is also necessary to record positive results so that they are stored in memory. Re-reading the achievements written in a notebook (or a photo/video report) helps to recharge with positivity if something doesn’t work out.

Why is it important to develop willpower?

First of all, you need to understand that self-control is not an innate quality; it can and should be improved. In fact, it is the basis and support of your personality. The more time you devote to developing this ability, the greater your chances of achieving success in any endeavor.

During his life, a person sets many goals for himself. But most of them turn out to be unattainable. Or does it just seem that way? In fact, most people simply quit what they started, obeying their momentary impulses. Laziness, fear, temporary interest in something new - all this prevents us from becoming the person we sometimes see in our dreams. Therefore, it is very important to develop willpower before it is too late to change something.

Tip #3: Set specific goals for yourself

You must determine what is of utmost importance to you. When making a to-do list, include only those that are important, otherwise, over time, new tasks are added, and old ones are not completed and accumulate at the end of the list. In his book Willpower: Rediscovering Humans' Greatest Strength, social psychologist Roy Baumeister says that without awareness of what exactly you want to achieve, self-regulation will amount to meaningless and purposeless changes. The problem is not that you don't have goals, but that there are often too many of them and some of them contradict each other. The author recommends following the “two-minute rule”: if a task does not take you more than two minutes to complete, do not add it to your to-do list, but solve it immediately.

Tip #8: Motivate yourself

When you set a goal to do something, figure out how you will reward yourself for it. For every achievement, please yourself with pleasant things. For example, you can make a wish-list, set yourself a goal opposite each item, the completion of which will mean that you can go shopping. Thoughts of reward will motivate you. Willpower must not only be controlled by self-restraint, but also encouraged. The greater the result achieved, the greater the reward.

Tip No. 9. Play sports

Exercise, even in moderation, will help you develop willpower. The author of the famous marshmallow test (marshmallow experiment), Walter Michel, in his book “Developing Willpower,” advises not to start with a full workout in the gym using all the simulators: morning exercises and jogging will be enough. When you get used to the appearance of sports in your life, you can increase the load and go to the gym. Sports will help you overcome laziness, since daily training requires persistence, adherence to a daily routine, exercise techniques and physical activity. An active lifestyle will add additional strength to your body to accomplish your plans.

How to develop persistence?

To develop quality, you need to constantly force yourself to perform the same actions until the result is achieved. If the goal of developing persistence is mastering a foreign language, force yourself to learn 30 new words every day and repeat thirty from yesterday. Learn new ones, repeat old ones - until foreign words bounce off your teeth.

Another good way to develop general perseverance is achieved through grueling sports. The sport can be any, but in general terms let’s consider running.

Set a goal: a 10 km marathon. Try to reach the end point in 1 day. Through sweat, weakness, fatigue, run 10 km without stopping. Increase your mileage every day and reach the finish line. If you learn to persistently get things done from start to finish in a short time, luck will always be on your side. She loves persistent people!

How to develop determination?

To restore or develop sense of purpose, you need to constantly set goals, move towards them and analyze the result.

Start small. For example, if you want to go cycling, set a goal: buy a bike. At the time of setting the task, do not stress that it is expensive and there is not enough time to drive it. Buy a piggy bank or open a refillable bank account. Set aside 5–10% of your income every month. In six months, look into the cache. Find out how much money you managed to raise. Go online and see what kind of bike you can buy with your saved money.

This way, you can find a job with a reasonable salary or move up the career ladder. If there is no prospect of a promotion at your existing job, you need to set a goal: the position of head of a department within a year. Describe possible ways to implement the plan and take action. Write a good resume. Send it to the email inboxes of potential employers every day after work. Submit advertisements in free and paid newspapers, accept invitations for interviews. Within a year, you will meet with an employer who will agree to hire a person without management experience.

Read more: Developing a sense of purpose

Tip #6: Make the most of your day

Find out everything you can. Do a certain number of useful things every day; Over time, you will make it a habit, thereby increasing your productivity. Author of the bestseller “At the Limit. A week without self-pity” Eric Bertrand Larssen suggests spending a week doing what laziness, fear, and lack of concentration prevented you from doing. Seven days a week, get up and go to bed at the same time, and during the day try to do something that you have been meaning to do for a long time, but never got around to. This weekly challenge will allow you to develop not only willpower, but also discipline and composure.

Tip #2: Monitor your sleep

Insufficient sleep has a profound effect on the efficient functioning of the prefrontal cortex. Lack of sleep is a form of stress on the body that affects how your body and brain deplete your available energy resources. Therefore, your productivity depends on whether you get enough sleep or not. Professor of Psychiatry Dr. Daniel Kripke conducted a study on how long it takes a person to regain the energy spent during the day. The study found that people who sleep 6.5–7.5 hours a day are much more productive, feel happier and live longer.

#2 - Determination

Purposefulness is a focus on the results of activities. Without this strong-willed quality, it is difficult to move up the career ladder, lose weight, or achieve MSM in sports.

Like determination, determination develops from childhood. You can lose it at any age. Children lose their sense of purpose, most often due to prohibitions from parents and teachers. In adults, it disappears due to various circumstances, including loss of interests.