ONE Simple Hack to Boost Your WILLPOWER in Seconds

Do you often find it hard to resist temptation?

Do you find that your willpower falters exactly when it's most needed?

Whether it's sticking to a diet, maintaining a workout routine, or resisting the urge to splurge, everyone struggles with willpower at some point.

This issue isn't just frustrating; it can also interfere with your long-term goals for success.

There’s a powerful yet straightforward technique that can dramatically increase your willpower. It's as simple as tensing your muscles or muscle firming.

Here’s why it works and how to do it.

The idea is based on the concept of embodied cognition.

Embodied Cognition states that the body and mind are deeply interconnected.

Cognitive processes, like memory, attention, and decision-making, are not only confined to the brain, but are also influenced by the body's actions, sensations, and environment.

Using five experiments, researchers Hung and Labroo found that simply tensing one's muscles can strengthen one's willpower and facilitate self-control. The participants tried different ways of tensing muscles: squeezing a fist, stretching fingers, tightening calf muscles, and flexing biceps.

Experiments 1, 2 and 3 found that muscle firming helped people to endure immediate pain, take medicine that doesn't taste good, and engage with difficult information.

Experiment 4 provided field evidence showing that muscle firming boosts the mental resolve to make a healthy choice and resist the immediate pleasure of unhealthy foods.

Experiment 5 showed that muscle firming facilitates self-control only if people firm their muscles at the same time they face a self-control dilemma.

The idea behind these studies is that when you tense your muscles, it triggers a subconscious goal to be strong-willed, which in turn supports your conscious efforts to use your willpower effectively. This helps you work towards and achieve your long-term goals.

An important thing to note is that this technique has limitations.

Muscle firming may be effective in boosting willpower only under these conditions:

• When you are consciously trying to exert willpower.

  Muscle firming can help individuals focus and engage more effectively in self-control when they are actively intending to strengthen their willpower.

• When you are in the moment of facing a self-control dilemma.

  Muscle firming is most effective when individuals encounter a situation that requires them to choose between immediate gratification and long-term benefits.

• When you value the long-term benefits of self-control.

• Individuals who place importance on the positive outcomes of self-control are more likely to benefit from muscle firming.

• When you firm your muscles while engaging in self-control.

• Muscle firming should occur simultaneously with the self-control effort.

• If you have not depleted their willpower on a previous unrelated task.

• Prior exertion of willpower can reduce the effectiveness of muscle firming on subsequent self-control attempts.

Here are 5 steps to applying muscle firming effectively to boost willpower:

Identify a self-control dilemma. This could be anything that requires you to resist an immediate temptation in order to achieve a long-term goal.

Ensure that you care about the long-term goal. If you don't, you won't be motivated to summon willpower.

Find an opportunity to firm your muscles. This could be anything from clenching your fists to stretching your fingers, or squeezing your legs together.

Focus on your long-term goal while you firm your muscles. This will help to associate the muscle firming with willpower strengthening.

Summon your willpower to resist the temptation and pursue the long-term goal. The muscle firming will help you to augment your willpower and make it easier to resist the temptation.

Let me give you 2 examples on how to apply muscle firming in real life:

Example 1:* If you are trying to resist temptation, such as eating a piece of cake, you can try clenching your fists or tensing your muscles. This will help you to focus on your goal and resist the temptation.

Example 2:* If you are trying to stay motivated to exercise, you can try holding a weight or doing a few slow squats before you start your workout. This will help you to get in the mindset to exercise and make it more likely that you will stick with it.

It's important to note that muscle firming is not a magic bullet. It will only help you to boost your willpower if you already have a goal you want to achieve.

And if you are struggling with self-control, muscle firming can be a helpful tool to help you achieve your goals.

Reference: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/657240