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How To Build Your Superpower

In part 3 of this podcast series, I will look at the superpower, which will allow you to achieve your goals and help you to become invincible.

Do you remember, when you were a kid, making a cape out of your coat and pretending you were a superhero?  I certainly do.

Do you remember what your superpower was? Could you “jump a tall building in a single bound?” Did you have ‘Spidey-senses” which tingled? Could you fly? Make yourself invisible?

Whatever you pretended as a kid, these days you probably don’t think about superpowers.

Yet, there is one which is common to all humans. A power which, when used, allows you to achieve your goals and to close the gap between where you are and where you want to be.

Willpower!

Willpower is your ability to make decisions about the things which are important to you. It is the power of choice.

Do you know what you want?

Whatever you want in life – to be slim fit and healthy; to be the best parent ever; to grow a business – it is willpower that takes you there.

Without willpower, you don’t go to the gym, you snap at the kids, you don’t make those cold calls… Instead, you give in to impulses and only do what you feel like doing.

And achievement is what gives our lives meaning. It is where we grow.

Your superpower has kryptonite

If that’s the case, why don’t we always take action? What’s stopping us from powering through and creating the future we’ve always wanted?

As I mentioned in my previous blog, Willpower is drained throughout the day. It is vulnerable to a range of pressures on us all. These include:

• Lack of sleep – if you are sleep deprived you are far more likely to give in to impulses.
• Decision fatigue – the more decisions you make in a day, the less willpower you have left.
• Poor nutrition – sugar is the worst culprit here but junk foods and highly processed foods all contribute
• Alcohol – it goes without saying that when you are drunk you make poor decisions
• Stress – this is a huge drain on willpower. Your brain is busy dealing with the emergency that is triggering the ‘fight or flight’ response and there is not a lot left for considered decisions

You may have other triggers that impact your life too. Just be being aware of them you are increasing your chances of exercising self-control when you need it.

Topping up your superpower

So if you are constantly draining your willpower, what can you do to top it up. Of course, avoiding the things that drain it is going to be a big help but, short of moving to the top of a high mountain, living on organic hand-grown foods and sleeping ten hours a day, there will always be times when your willpower needs topping up.

There are several proven ways to do this:

• Exercise – this is a massive stressbuster and detoxifies the body
• Sleep – get a good night’s sleep or take a power nap and you’ll be better able to make the choices that take you forward
• Meditation – which decreases stress, improves focus and increases the gap between an impulse and the action so you are more likely to resist temptation
• Action – when you don’t feel like it, getting started has been proven to reduce the resistance.