How many times have we heard the saying by that famous philosopher, Anonymous, “Where there is a will, there is a way.” Probably more times than we can count. The reason this ancient truism lingers on through the centuries is that it can be applied as powerfully today as it was a millennia ago.
Willpower is the key, and so that we are all clear on the meaning, Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines willpower as the ability to control yourself. It goes further to say that it is, strong determination that allows you to do something difficult and also defines it as energetic determination. That is what we are talking about here. It is all about having strong and energetic determination.
The tricky part about using the powerful tool of our strong and energetic determination, our Will, is knowing what our Will truly IS. We can notice that Will is different than want. We can feel the difference when we think, “I will do this” as opposed to “I want to do this.” Will has more force behind it, and the force of willpower can be virtually unstoppable!
Being a slave to and directed only by our moods, our thoughts, things that are happening to us, creates only wants and provide very little power to make any significant change.
It is only by the exercise of our will, using our strong and energetic determination, that we can change. With our will, we can firmly take our lives into our hands and enhance and take charge of our lives.
The alternative to using our will is to passively allow ourselves, consciously or unconsciously, to blame others, circumstances, our parents, our teachers, whatever … anyone or anything other than understanding that we are, indeed, in charge of our own life. The power to change this is available to us through the exercise of our willpower and following our Spirit, that still small voice within.
This applies to our professional or working world too. Applying our willpower in this manner to our professional world may take some deep digging to determine exactly what our goals really are. There are many things that may be nice to have or do but what do we really desire? Do we want some aspect of our job to transform? Are we really willing to put our willpower into play? We have to ask ourselves: Do we want to change companies? Or even careers? Is it time to follow our passion and see where that goes? Are we willing to take the steps to make that happen? Are we are currently working long hours or traveling a lot for work and are now feeling the need to spend more time with our family? Are we willing to open a dialogue with whomever to make whatever shifts we desire?
We will know if we have come to a decision place in our life that is going to take some willpower to achieve when it feels exhilarating to envision the outcome and a bit daunting to get there.
Remember, willpower is about strong and energetic determination. We need to have our emotions behind what we are seeking to change in order for our will to engage its full power. Once we have our will and emotions on board, then we can make a step-by-step plan of how to get to where we are headed. We will find that once we take the first step onto the path of our plan, the momentum will carry us to our desired outcome. We may not get there exactly as we had envisioned, but after all, if our will is involved, there is a way!
