Navy SEAL Gives 3 Tips to Build Willpower

In our daily lives it is important to have some willpower and discipline. Without it we would be like rudderless boat drifting and tossed in the waves.

We all want to take a bite of that candy bar but resist as we know it doesn’t help us meet our goals of health and fitness.

Willpower, a.k.a. resolve, gets us from point A to B without all of the little distractions.

At 18 I had no willpower—unless it was making it to the next Friday late night party.

So what changed? How did I go from that lifestyle to becoming a Navy SEAL?

Find out what a Navy SEAL knows about building Will Power

I decided I wanted to. I decided I could.

I resolved to make it happen.

They say it takes 21 consistent days to build a habit–good or bad. I changed my environment and my situation and got myself in a place where I could only make good choices and build good habits.

A few months later I was a young man with many good changes under my feet.

Tip #1: Read Good Books Daily

You see this tip in my articles over and over again. There’s a reason for that.

If you fill your mind with good thoughts, it becomes very hard for you to think negative thoughts. Read something positive. Read books that inspire you. Read about people who inspire you.

If you don’t like to read, get a subscription to Audible and listen to good books as you work out or commute. Another option is to listen to inspiring podcasts.

Tip #2: Change Your Environment

This is directly connected to Tip#1. Your external environment reflects your internal one—and the other way around. Reading books that improve your mind makes you want to improve your situation and environment.

Get away from bad people. Get next to good people—preferably those more athletic and better than you at business or whatever task that you seek to improve.

Junk environment means junk internal thoughts. If you want a healthier environment—you have to work on changing both.

Tip #3: Enjoy the Struggle

You’ll also hear this as “embrace the suck”.

The suck/struggle is what builds you physically and mentally. The way you look at a situation/struggle will determine how you handle it.

If you focus on the suck as only that—suck that’s making you struggle—you’ll quit. But if you look at it as a chance to change your perspective to the struggle being something that’s building you up, quitting doesn’t feel so appealing.

No one wants to be exposed and shown to be less than they are. But that “less” becomes awareness around what you can improve.

That is the only way to grow and become more. Just like the butterfly—it has to go from caterpillar to cocoon and struggle, fight to get out of the cocoon.

Only then will it become a beautiful strong butterfly that can withstand gale force winds.

The struggle is a gift. Learn how to thrive on it.