WHETHER IT’S A RUNNING, LIFESTYLE OR CAREER GOAL, IT’S YOUR WILL THAT HELPS BRING SUCCESS. HERE’S OUR GUIDE TO BUILDING WILLPOWER THAT NEVER RUNS OUT…

WORDS: RACHAEL WOOLSTON

I’ve got no will power.” How often have you heard yourself or a friend say this despairingly, citing it as a reason why a diet failed, you didn’t stick to your training plan or you couldn’t hold your pace to get a parkrun PB? It was once believed that this was because we only had a certain amount of willpower and that, after a stressful day, such as a long stint in the office or with the kids, we would have emptied the tank. Now, new research is suggesting it’s possible to build an unlimited supply. We say yes to that. Here’s our guide to staying strong all year round. \

1. RETRAIN YOUR BRAIN

How you frame your language affects whether you believe you have willpower or not. If you’re always saying I don’t or I can’t, then you’re more likely to give in at the first hurdle, whether that’s sinking into the sofa instead of going for a run, slowing down in a tempo session or scoffing that afternoon cupcake. Your brain is like a muscle, you get stuck in certain movement patterns such as sitting down all day, and likewise get stuck in the pattern of giving in. But you can turn this around.

“If I handed you a heavy dumbbell and asked you to do 10 repetitions, you wouldn’t be able to because you haven’t trained”, explains Dr Philip Clarke, lecturer in sports and exercise psychology at University of Derby. “Likewise, by consistently saying, ‘Yes I can’ and completing your training, you’ll build up your mental strength and the willpower to commit to your goals.” Long-standing research, first published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in the 1980s, has found that the more you try to suppress a certain thought, such as, I really don’t want to run today, the stronger that thought becomes. By instead thinking, I really want to run – and doing it – it will build up your willpower.