More on the Practice of Lifestyle Change

I just read the most interesting article about willpower and how we need to practice it differently in the short term versus the long term. Thanks to our very own Berlin Duck for sending me this link. Here is some of the meat that I pulled out:

“In the short term, you should spend your limited willpower budget wisely…

…[I]t can be counterproductive to work toward multiple goals at the same time if your willpower cannot cover all the efforts that are required. Concentrating your effort on one or at most a few goals at a time increases the odds of success.

Focusing on success is important because willpower can grow in the long term. Like a muscle, willpower seems to become stronger with use. The idea of exercising illpower is seen in military boot camp, where recruits are trained to overcome one challenge after another…

…People who stick to an exercise program for two months report reducing their impulsive spending, junk food intake, alcohol use and smoking. They also study more, watch less television and do more housework…

…Whatever the explanation, consistently doing any activity that requires self-control seems to increase willpower — and the ability to resist impulses and delay gratification is highly associated with success in life.”

This totally makes sense to me. Maybe the past 4 years of working towards debt elimination have honed my willpower skills. Perhaps I’m passed the short term stage where I simply couldn’t manage both debt elimination and weight loss at the same time. Could it be that is why the time is now for success? I choose to think so. And on that note, I’m back to practicing…