How to Activate Your Willpower

People ask me all the time; “How were you able to do what you did? You’re so strong mentally, and you have the willpower I don’t.

Well, we all have the same willpower. Cluttered by our problems, beliefs and everything that we think that we’re not. To me willpower is an extension of belief, of clarity, on knowing your “why”. Knowing why you are doing what you are doing and realizing you DO hold the key to change. To health and happiness.

Me, I was so sick, and will never forget the day my Doctor told me I would never walk regularly again. That I would never be able to live the life that I dreamed of. That I would be in constant pain, crippled, not being able to work, or play with my grandchildren. I was devastated, but the thing is, feeling helpless and hopeless awakened something within me. I had so much to live for. So many reasons to get better, and who could tell me what my life would be like in the future?

And what about me? I had no say in this?

The fact that I was questioning everything opened the door to a new world, to my inner power, and THAT is what we tap into. The same power we all hold. The reason you might not feel it right now is also in there. As a form of self-sabotage or lack of feeling worthy. You see, your whole life has conditioned you to feel what you feel right now, about YOU, and about everything you experience.

Take a closer look at your life. Are the same situations recurring? Are you living the same old story, not able to break free or to step up?

Again, the self-sabotage is in the way, the lack of self-love. We’re looking at false beliefs. The victimhood. It’s huge for us. We often see the world as an unfair place to be. Bad things shouldn’t happen to good people. We feel we deserve better. I did. Feeling so unfairly treated by my life. The old “why me”, playing in my head. I was a good person, and now this?

The reason we fall into that “trap”, and this is a huge key, is comparing ourselves to others. It`s all about them. Observing how others live, feel, what they achieve, and then the; Why can’t I just do that? They are doing what I am doing and they’re healthy. Why can’t I be healthy, happy and accomplished? Why am I not living my dream?

Or: I’m working as hard as them. Why am I not having the success as they are? Or: They seem to be so balanced. Why can’t I find that balance?

Well, you can, will and AM, but not by comparing yourself to anyone. They have their own reason, their own “why” and determination. They have their own fears and struggles. Your willpower comes from YOU, and you only.

Yes, you can feel inspired by others, guided, supported and comforted, but only when you have your own foot on the pedal will you find sustainable strength. And THAT is what I found. Willpower showed up when I let go of everything I thought I had to do, say or want, to please anyone else. I had to let go of everything I falsely believed.

And I had to do it for my own reasons.

In my own way.

What does willpower mean?

We all want to be healthy and happy, to have a good life. So, we all have the will so to speak. But what about the power? Well, this is where I see things a bit differently. From experience, power is about choices. About MAKING A choice. So, when you put will and choice together, meaning you realize that it is your own responsibility to own the situation, you are walking towards power. The willpower that you see others have, and you feel you lack yourself. They have the will together with the realization they are in charge, and have to take charge, and it looks like strength.

A test:

If I tell you that you will be healthy, that your life will be amazing, abundant in every way. What is your reaction? I also tell you that you will be a huge success and that everything will be perfect. That your almost there. How will you react? Usually what I find is a lot of resistance. A lot of “but`s”, reasons why this will never happen. And THIS is why we are so different. This is the gatekeeper of your willpower. We are kept under lockdown by our false beliefs. Our subconscious programming, that we are not worthy. Not capable.

Change is what will allow ourselves to realign, allow our whole being to be able to just simply change our diet, our lifestyle, mindset and practices. And to stop doing everything that’s hurting us. Ultimately that`s what this is all about. It’s about allowing. This is simply about walking healthier, doing your best and finding support.

By realizing that you are in charge of, and responsible for your own life and health – you are going to activate your power. It never left you, it is who you are. The life that we live in is colored by every single choice that we make. It might not be obvious, but you are not your thoughts.

The power of choice includes: 

• The freedom to choose how to respond to every single situation that arises. – A response is not the same as a reaction. When we respond, we are giving back a balanced analysis or answer to a given activity or outside event. A reaction is an emotionally based response that we see as coming from a place of hurt and lack. The same exact situation can arise in front of two different people, and their perception of it might be completely different. How you respond and react is entirely up to you. You can love or hate, and you can accept or deny. As long as we keep working on ourselves, the detachment from having to live our lives through a reaction pattern will slowly fade.
• The ability to let go of what is not serving you. – Be it a non-serving relationship or a job that you are not happy with, it is your choice to let it go or let it be. You can change your job, or you can love it as it is – that is how powerful you are. Nothing outside of you can ever demand how you feel or act. Only you can trigger that motion. Letting go simply means not letting it obstruct your inner calm and feelings. You can hold on to anything you want, as long as you realize that you are the one who has to live with it.
• Being able to choose what you eat. – This is such a transformational topic. So simple, yet so hard. Every single thing you put in your mouth is by choice. This, in turn, means that your health on every level is yours to decide. I know, it might feel like a tough statement to make, but it is the truth. Detoxification is the key to health and healing, and through changing our diet to a supporting and cleansing one, we are changing our whole lives. The physical body is connected to our emotional body, and once that train towards Joy City, the corner of Health and Happiness, leaves the station, there is no going back, not unless one really wants to. So, choose wisely and know that the power of choice is yours!
• The unlimited choice to change and grow. – Change is perceived as hard, and therefore it will often bring on a high level of resistance. Not only resistance for the obvious reason, being that hard is less desirable, no, but this is also a much deeper kind of resistance. Letting go of what is, can be scarier than anything, and holding on to what is will keep life in your comfort zone, even if it is an uncomfortable one. Yes, even then, the obvious choice can seem out of reach.
• The unlimited allowance to act. – No-one or no-thing is holding you back. The free will to act is always there. Through the motion, you put forth and the steps that you take – you are honoring your freedom of choice.
• Always having the freedom to love your life! – Loving life exactly as it is, is a conscious choice. From the vibration of love comes more to love, so you see this choice is a truly powerful one. Find everything that you love about your life and focus on that every single day.

Very often, I hear a “but” coming – as if there is a reason for the above statements not to be true for us in particular. You might say: “Yes, this is all well and good, but, you see – for me, it is not that easy. You see, I have this and this going on and I cannot do this for this and that reason.” As long as we keep looking, there will be a reason not to honor our inner power. There are as many reasons as there are but’s, or rare ends rather. So, what is this all about? If you feel a “but” coming, know that it`s only your own fear speaking. Your mind is trying to reason your way out of losing its hold on you. Taking full responsibility and making your whole life your own business is a very scary thing. The mind finds it’s controlled well worth fighting for – hence it’s needed for this interference. The inner reasoning is only trying to keep you from realizing that your life is your own business and that there really is no reason why it is not.

Your power is so much stronger than your mind, and your inner light and ability to heal and restore is grander than you can ever imagine. No person, no event or circumstance can stand in the way of your ability to choose life. The inner strength that we all hold is released when we allow it to be.

Helpful process when activating your willpower:

 Sit down with your journal and answer the below questions. Be real and honest. Dig deep. Can you see a pattern? 

• Why am I doing this?
• Why am I telling myself the stories that just aren’t true?
• Why am I triggered by the thought of being amazing?
• What will be taken away from me if that’s the truth and why do I have so much resistance towards it?
• Why am I afraid to shine? Why am I afraid to be so darn wonderful?
• Why am I afraid to be good at what I do?
• Why am I afraid to feel beautiful?
• Why am I afraid to walk around with my, my shoulders back and my chest forward to face the world with a smile and a positive outlook?
• Why am I afraid of that?
• Why is it more comfortable for me to hang on to what I have, even though it is shitty and crappy?
• Why is this familiar?

We don’t have to change, it’s a choice. A privilege. And when we don’t want to, it’s easy to say: it didn’t work for me. I can’t do it. Or “Hilde, you’re so strong, you’re stronger than me”.

That’s bullshit.

Nobody is. You are. You are the one. You’re the one that you’ve been waiting for. You’re the solution to everything in your life. We need to stop not doing what’s not serving us. We’re not doing anyone any, you know, service. By doing that, you’re worthy. You’re worthy of everything that life has to offer. So that’s number one, look at the resistance that comes up. Because if somebody tells you, everything will be amazing, that should feel inspiring. It should be celebrated. You should be jumping up and down with a message like that.

Forgiveness releases power:

We cannot walk through life carrying unforgiveness with us as a reason to stay sick and tired and sick and tired of being sick and tired. Forgiveness is an act of self-love. Forgiveness is not saying that what happened was okay. Forgiving is saying, “I’m not going to spend more time going through this and reliving this because it’s energy that is done with. I’m freeing myself and I’m heading the other direction where there is sunshine, where there is love, where there is prosperity, positivity and good outlooks.

That’s where I’m heading.

I can’t take this with me.

When you can open up your heart with forgiveness, that’s where your heart will create from. Everything that you do will come from your heart. That’s when intuition comes in. That’s where compassion comes in. Step out and step up. Step into who you are, where you are. Believe in yourself and believe in your health. Every cell in your body is listening and they are acting accordingly.

Health and happiness are a process, and here is why:

When all I wanted was to be able to hike, when all I wanted was a sunny day that felt good, I already knew what to do. I knew it was all up to me.

Not that I knew every step of the way. Heck no, I am still walking my journey. Learning every day. And that is the key. To realize we don’t know and walk towards what we DO. The power of thoughts, emotions, actions, energy and all that.

Ok, so imagine where you want to be. Out of pain? Feeling fab? Helping others? No matter what it is, imagine it. I mean imagine it. Now, what emotions would fit into the picture? Joy, happiness, a sense of accomplishment, gratitude?

I bet the anger, fear, and sorrow would NOT. And that is how we create and tap into our power. All having the same ability to do so. You see, fear-based thinking comes from resistance. So, as long as we think we cannot, we cannot.

As soon as we shift our mindset to:

• I am worthy
• I am able
• I ready
• I am doing this
• I can feel it
• I am strong
• I got this

It is taking us towards: I DID IT!

Procrastination, self-sabotage, fear of change, lack of self-love, all keeping us from doing what we KNOW we need to do to reach our goals.

Keeping us from feeling we have the willpower. Feeling less than activated. Weak and powerless. Like a victim.

I bet you know what you need to change to feel better. At least some of it. Where you could start. You know one or two things that are keeping you from looking and feeling like a million. I knew a few myself. Like quitting smoking and dropping the diet coke addiction. Oh, and the cheese doodles thing. I knew.

Every single day did I know.

Every hangover also told me what NOT to keep doing. Every day with ulcers, with inflammation and pain. I knew something was off. Every late night I stayed out, I knew. How? My body and soul told me. Like it is telling me smiles and loves right now, it was showing me to back off and listen.

Still, I didn’t know HOW to do it!

I was lost in my mindset.

Playing small.

I kept telling myself all these stories.

About later, abut why and why not I couldn`t and didn´t have to. Boy did I speak to myself. Long talks. On repeat.

It is all Bullshit. No truth to it. Only fear and addiction. There is no reason why you see. It is always a good time to honor your health and life. It is always a good time to step up and find out what to do. The BEST time is BEFORE you get familiar with the symptoms of ill health.

The DO part is key.

THE key. I know it might sound easy when it’s not, but that is NOT what I am about. I have been there. Soo there.

My message is this:

Stop playing small, allowing yourself not to do your best.

HEALTH and happiness is a process. LIFE is a process.

#1: Everything is affected by our mindset: What are your thoughts about? Are you planning abundance or more fear and sickness?

#2: Emotional processing: Are you holding on to anger and fear? Your emotional state is what you are sending out to the Universe. It`s your “Channel”. Healing emotional wounds will elevate your capacity for healing. I see so many that are suffering from PTSD without even knowing it. Me, included. Processing old traumas are essential. They stick to your organs and glands.

#3: Self-love: This is HUGE. Any thyroid issue, adrenal issue, you KNOW this is one to look at. Most of us were not conditioned for self-love, but for being pleasers. Time to live from LOVE.

#4: Diet: This is where I always start, with any client. I mean, lets, first of all, do no harm. Let’s step away from the toxins, the burden, the mucus-forming processed food-like substances and simply eat whole fresh food. For some, this changes everything almost instantaneously, and for others, it shows them how toxic they really are. For me, omg. Well, I was, like so many other autoimmune diagnosed, so filled with parasites, viruses, fungi, etc I almost blew up. Or so it felt. This is why detoxification is a must, and guidance and understanding is important. I have some articles om my website on this topic, with pictures that might blow your mind.

#5: Lifestyle: Yes, you got it, it is ALL connected. Stress is huge here. Stress kills.  It is at the core of any imbalance.

#6: Passion: This is needed. Now, not in form of something extravagantly extraordinarily anything, but you do need the will to live, to do, to create. It is crucial. No drive, no action.

Your life and situation are NOT a punishment.

It’s an opportunity.

It’s a potential.

Be excited.

If I could do it, YOU can do it.

Start by deciding, make a choice.

You see, THAT is where the journey begins to unfold.

THAT is when you activate your willpower.

It feels like strength and determination.

Once you decide to take charge, to be the boss of your life, to cut the crap, and be real.

Everything changes.

If you feel lost, check out my new online course: How to Stop Sabotaging your Health:

https://www.inspiredbyhildecourses.com/stop-sabotaging-your-health

Hilde Larsen

Health/Mindset Coach/Author/Speaker/Detox Specialist/Life-Enthusiast

http://inspiredbyhilde.com/start-here/

This article first appeared on the Wakeup-World blog at https://wakeup-world.com/2020/06/18/how-to-activate-your-willpower/