I’m a firm believer in will power, in exercising your will… when it pertains to you and your life. At times you exercise for something and at other times it stands as a defense against certain aspects. In either case, you are not imposing your will on another. And, will power can be exercised in a variety of ways, including the passive aggressive behavior types – the most manipulative form of will power. What kind of will power do you exercise because everyone does, even if it’s to give that power to someone else.
Why is it important? Simple. We are a creation that hates to be told… pretty much everything. For some it’s not because they know it all it’s because they want to exercise their decision making power rather than be told, they want to discover. The only problem with this approach is that you can waste a lot of time reinventing the wheel. Somehow, if this is you, you need to separate the decision making part of exercising your will from the discovery stage. Approach discovery as a… how it applies to you and your life rather than needing to discover everything first-hand yourself.
Soooo is doing what you want to do, when you want to do it, if you want to do it the definition of exercising your will power? I don’t think so, especially if it infringes on others’ rights. Exercising your will power entails accepting the results and ramifications from your decision. Using your will is both a privilege as well as a responsibility (a sign of maturity). You aren’t suppose to exercise it unthinkingly.
If unbridled use of your will is not the basis of will power, what is? The primary foundation for your will power is your character; who you are and how you express this. The decisions that emanate from this foundation reinforces, refines how you utilize your will power, especially in difficult situations. I would suggest that the one factor that is most important is will power’s twin – self control. Without this stabilizing influence, effective will power is severely weakened.
