unusual traits of people with extremely strong willpower
Willpower is a true superpower. If you can’t control yourself, you’re at the mercy of random factors with the power to hold you back.
There are many synonyms for willpower we use every day, including drive, determination, self-discipline, and self-control. But psychologists look at willpower and break it down into several key components:
• Delayed gratification or resisting immediate temptations in favor of meeting your long-term goals
• The ability to discard an unhelpful thought or impulse
• The discipline to utilize a “cool” cognitive system of behavior instead of being ruled by your “hot” emotions
• Purposeful self-regulation
In essence, power springs from the conviction that what you want to do will be worth your time and effort. When you believe your goals are worthy, you’re far more likely to stay the course.
Strong-willed people are not all talk and no action, they accomplish what they intend to do. They aren’t easily swayed by other people or even their own emotions. These single-minded folks are more likely to succeed than those lacking such determination.
So what’s the difference between being strong-willed and just plain stubborn? After all, a stubborn person sticks to their guns, not unlike someone who’s considered strong-willed.
That can be a double-edged sword.
If your ideas are sound, stubbornly pursuing them can lead to success. But, if your ideas are lacking, being strong-willed and stubborn can hold you back from achieving your goals.
Here are traits that strong-willed individuals share.
- Confidence
A confident person believes that they are capable of doing whatever they want to do.
Where does that confidence come from?
Self-esteem, which is how highly you regard yourself.
OK, but where does that self-esteem come from?
Self-esteem is built over time by your achievements. Reaching your smaller goals results in small but still significant gains in self-esteem, while bigger achievements lead to even bigger gains in your self-esteem.
But to esteem oneself, you must love yourself.
- Unconditional self love
Most people think we can whip ourselves into shape with punishing routines we don’t even like. It’s a crummy way to live your life and sets you up for inevitable failure.
You’re bound to overindulge once you’ve endured enough self-inflicted torture. If you want to cultivate good habits, a key factor in success is pleasure.
What we need to remember is that productivity can also be enjoyable when we decide to frame it like that. So, if you want to strengthen your willpower, get creative with finding new and pleasurable ways to give yourself unconditional love.
And always keep focused on steady growth.
- Growth mindset
Strong-willed people are resilient because they have a growth mindset. Those with a rigid mindset believe their abilities are finite. But people with a growth mindset know better and believe they can step up and meet any challenge.
Strong-willed people are laser-focused on their goals but are flexible about what methods it takes to reach them. You can be stubborn about your ideas but willing to learn in the interest of meeting those goals.
A growth mindset requires that we focus on values, not perfection.
When we expect no less than perfection, we restrict ourselves with arbitrary rules to cultivate a false sense of control. This can cause you to fear making mistakes, which is counterproductive to growth.
Perfectionism sets you up for failure. When we make mistakes because we’re only human, perfectionism can turn this experience into a crisis of confidence followed by a shame spiral.
- Resilience
Resilience is the knack to bounce back quickly after experiencing setbacks. You’re guaranteed to face obstacles while pursuing your goals. That’s just life, my friends.
This can pop your confidence balloon. A lot of people throw in the towel when the going gets rough. But strong-willed people bounce back when they hit rock bottom since they believe their goals are worth pursuing.
A good heaping helping of self-reliance also doesn’t hurt.
- Self-reliance
Strong-willed people don’t need anyone else’s validation, as they are motivated by self-conviction.
In fact, their words and behavior tend to ruffle feathers. But strong-willed people remain unfazed by this because they don’t really care about others’ opinions of them.
They don’t need, want, or seek external validation for their plans. They are assertive by nature and just go for it.
- Assertiveness
Kathy Copeland Padden
Kathy Copeland Padden lives in a New England forest paradise with her cats, kid, and trusty laptop. She has been writing since age 8 and is such a pack rat she can back that up with physical evidence. Music is her solace and words are her drug, so her house is strewn with records and books. Watch your step.