Having a strong will

[XenoFish]

So what does having a strong will mean? What is a strong will? Is it determination, diligence, and persistence in one's actions? How do we strengthen our will?

[Asadora]

"Do what Thy Wilt Shall be the Whole of the Law." Mr. Aleister Crowley

[Bendy Demon]

I think it simply means that one is not easily swayed or controlled by the dictates and commands of others.

Such a trait seems to be greatly looked down on in this society, especially in kids. After all we want nice, complacent, obedient little dogs who nod in agreement with what they're told, not people who stand up and say "No".

[moonshadow60]

I dunno, but I love your avatar. He is and always will be my favorite Doctor Who.

[JGirl]

So what does having a strong will mean? What is a strong will? Is it determination, diligence, and persistence in one's actions? How do we strengthen our will?

i think it can be any or all of these things, as well as resistance, refusal, etc.

i believe the way to strengthen one's will is to utilize it purposefully and regularly, like a muscle in the body.

[gantonio45]

I believe a strong will comes from experiences that define and make us who we are. A strong will is being completely comfortable with yourself and knowing what is the right course of action for YOU to take.

[XenoFish]

I've set myself various small goal to see if I could achieve them. Some I've meet, other not so. The one's I've meet gave me a feeling I can't describe. I felt an inner strength increase. I've always been interested in having a stronger will. Thanks for the replies.

@moonshadow-The 4th doctor is the best.

Edited January 23, 2014 by XenoFish

[Awake2Chaos]

I would say it's stubborness, to a degree. I've always been strong-willed, and it's not a good thing. Time and age have tempered my desire to follow my will constantly. It was a monumental feat to learn patience.

On the upside I would say having a strong will should cushion you from others who wish to exert their will upon you....

But there is a fine line between self-preservation (like saying no sometimes and sticking to it) and being unbending.

Don't be unbending.

[XenoFish]

My primary interest in cultivation my will/willpower is self-mastery. The greatest enemy I have is myself.

[JGirl]

My primary interest in cultivation my will/willpower is self-mastery. The greatest enemy I have is myself.

you'd be far better off seeing yourself as an ally rather than enemy in this quest.

just sayin

[XenoFish]

Most of the time it's my demon of laziness that get's me.

[Awake2Chaos]

My primary interest in cultivation my will/willpower is self-mastery. The greatest enemy I have is myself.

I understand your struggle. Quitting smoking was the hardest thing I've ever done. My mom smokes, my stepdad.....my husband (only socially). It's hard!LOL

An uncle of mine gave me some advice that relates to willpower; 'Every day is a new chance. Don't let a failure be an excuse to continue to fail, you gotta keep trying."

And my own advice would don't be too hard on yourself. It's hard to break old habits and start new ones. It just takes diligence.

[XenoFish]

Sugar and caffeine are my demons of self-destruction. I'm horribly addicted to both. Trying to break this habit but it's been a inner war.

[Awake2Chaos]

Sugar and caffeine are my demons of self-destruction. I'm horribly addicted to both. Trying to break this habit but it's been a inner war.

There's a great book....

http://www.amazon.com/Lick-Sugar-Habit-Nancy-Appleton/dp/089529768X

I am a wicked sugar girl, I love sweets. But this book helped me put sugar in perspective. It's almost scary to learn what sugar really does to your body.

As far as caffeine goes, I can't live without my 1 or 2 cups of coffee a day, lol.

[JGirl]

I understand your struggle. Quitting smoking was the hardest thing I've ever done. My mom smokes, my stepdad.....my husband (only socially). It's hard!LOL

An uncle of mine gave me some advice that relates to willpower; 'Every day is a new chance. Don't let a failure be an excuse to continue to fail, you gotta keep trying."

And my own advice would don't be too hard on yourself. It's hard to break old habits and start new ones. It just takes diligence.

ah yes quitting smoking

i have not had a cigarette since november 17th of last year. i will never have another cigarette although some days i would kill a kitten for a smoke.

[Bendy Demon]

ah yes quitting smoking

i have not had a cigarette since november 17th of last year. i will never have another cigarette although some days i would kill a kitten for a smoke.

Hate cats huh?

But I am glad for you. Quitting smoking is the best thing you can do for yourself. My dad knows about quitting smoking. He decided to quit before I was born and said that quitting cold turkey was far easier than trying to use those packs of nicotine gum.

P.S: I agree. Tom Baker was the absolute BEST of all the Doctor Who's.

[JGirl]

Hate cats huh?

But I am glad for you. Quitting smoking is the best thing you can do for yourself. My dad knows about quitting smoking. He decided to quit before I was born and said that quitting cold turkey was far easier than trying to use those packs of nicotine gum.

P.S: I agree. Tom Baker was the absolute BEST of all the Doctor Who's.

no i don't hate cats lol

i quit cold turkey the night i had a heart attack. it's tougher now that i'm recovering from the heart surgery though. and some days oh i tell ya...

[Awake2Chaos]

no i don't hate cats lol

i quit cold turkey the night i had a heart attack. it's tougher now that i'm recovering from the heart surgery though. and some days oh i tell ya...

Wow, I'm so sorry to hear that. I wish you a complete and 'speedy' (as much as it can be after heart surgery) recovery.

[JGirl]

Wow, I'm so sorry to hear that. I wish you a complete and 'speedy' (as much as it can be after heart surgery) recovery.

thanks

[XenoFish]

I hope your recovery goes well. I went 7 days without caffeine and sugar, it made me a monster. I have to break it, or it will kill me. The energy drink I've consumed have already given me a heart issue.

[JGirl]

I hope your recovery goes well. I went 7 days without caffeine and sugar, it made me a monster. I have to break it, or it will kill me. The energy drink I've consumed have already given me a heart issue.

i could eliminate sugar no problem because i don't eat that much of it, but caffeine, that's another thing

i had to reduce my caffeine and it wasn't easy at first - i eventually mixed decaf with the regular caffeinated and reduced the caffeine that way.

mornings i still have to have hi test caffeine though!

[XenoFish]

I just need to be finished with it. It cost me too much money that I'd rather use for something else. I have to get this foul habit gone. Plus for once in my life I'd like to see my abs. I have'em just can't see them dang it.

[shadowghost]

I think having a strong or weak will is often misjudged. As I see it is not only determination, diligence, and persistence but it is the ability to be rock solid in thought but still malleable. Quoting from rocky.

“Life's not about how hard of a hit you can give... it's about how many you can take, and still keep moving forward.”

― Sylvester Stallone, Rocky Balboa

If we stay stuck in our ways and refuse to change it makes us weaker and more ignorant. The fact is we need to keep our moral basis and ideas but as we learn we need to take what we learn and adapt it to how we live. A strong will is not never changing your morals or your ways but it is keeping your ideas and only allowing you as an individual to change or alter what makes you who you are.

[quiXilver]

Willpower was paramount for a shift in my health. I found it to work like any behavior, the more you use it, the more you reinforce it and the stronger it becomes. It gains an inertia of sorts...

Three years ago, I developed an irregular heartbeat, which required minimally invasive surgery to correct. However, while doing all the blood tests that come with something of this nature, I discovered I had high cholesterol, high bp and blood sugar that was approaching diabetes 2 territory.

After reading through all the literature of the three drugs the docs (well meaningly) wanted to put me on for the rest of my life... I instead took very serious stock of what I was doing in my life daily and made a natural shift. I told the docs to give me three months and if I couldn't affect change in my blood, I'd submit to the drug plan.

I got back into Taoist cultivation, daily qi gong and meditation. Then educated myself and altered my diet according to traditional chinese medical philosophy.

No processed sugar, but natural sugars in moderation. No processed foods, no caffeine, no dairy and no red meat.

I focused on a high phyto-chemical diet.

Each morning I made 30 oz of smoothie in a 3hp blender with this recipe. 16 oz of water, raw corn, handful of organic strawberries, avacado plus the pit, 1 beet, 1 fuji apple with seeds, 1/2 cucumber with peel, 1/2 lime with the white pith, 1 inch of raw ginger, handful of goji berries, few sprigs of cilantro and mint.

I'd still eat fish and poultry, but lost the potatoes in favor of brown rice.

90 days later, my doctors were really pleased and very interested in my process. I dropped my bad cholesterol and upped the good, blood sugar was normal as was blood pressure. In addition I dropped and stabilized my weight from 225 to 200.

edit:

After three years, I'm still pharmaceutical free, weigh 195 now and the inertia keeps on flowing...

Edited January 25, 2014 by quiXilver

[XenoFish]

Well tomorrow starts my first official day without sugar and caffeine. So hopefully I'll have good news in a few months. I told my wife I'd have six pack abs if I could break the habit, we'll see.