Can Willpower Be a Bad Thing???

Willpower is one of the most over rated aspects in our fitness culture.

While some degree of willpower is necessary, it’s not a very reliable source of motivation. Remember, we can place an infinite amount of stress upon ourselves from diet or exercise but we only have a finite amount we can withstand before we collapse.

In other words your use of willpower can only take you so far. You will break sooner or later if you keep piling on the stress.

Thank about it like this; the talk of willpower is usually aimed at trying to get ourselves to do something we really don’t want to do. So if you don’t want to exercise or put down the second helping of cake then you’re supposed to use willpower to override your desires and make it happen.

The truth is, I rarely find myself trying to force myself to do something I really don’t want to do. Remember, the Red Delta Project’s first rule of thumb is to use methods that are enjoyable. If you consistently have trouble following through with a diet or exercise program then the problem isn’t your will power. The problem is the program.

The best program you can use is the one that requires the least amount of will power on a regular basis. Remember, improving fitness is supposed to be a challenge, not a struggle.

The constant call for willpower is like a canary in a coalmine. Sure we all sometimes need a little help here and there to push though the hard times. However, a constant need to bring in the willpower should be a huge red flag that something isn’t right and we may need to rethink our strategy.