Thoughs on free will, strength of will, and the question:
Does everyone have free will?
And can we train our free will? What are the degrees of free will that we have?
Is free will only allowed for the few?
Of course everyone has the physiological capacity for free will. But does everyone have the life conditions which actually enables them to have free will?
I don’t think so. If you got a 9-5 job, or an occupation in which your livelihood is dependent on the approval of someone else, you’re not fully free.
Freedom of Will
We all have freedom of will — what to do, what not to do. But I think “willpower”is the wrong notion. Better to think of courage, bravery, audacity, ascetic pride, and no fear of death or disgrace.
So perhaps if you’re able to philosophically and psychologically train yourself to scorn petty virtues of the masses, and to not be afraid of poverty or death, then you can exercise all sorts of free will in your life.
Some people have more willpower than others
I believe that building your willpower is akin to building your physical strength. No matter your body type, you can become stronger (muscles, physical strength). Anyone who lifts weights on a daily basis for a year will inevitably become stronger, have more muscle mass, and increase their boldness and confidence.
I think the question is this:
Do you want to increase your willpower?
If you desire to increase your willpower, then you can.
How to increase your willpower
- Ruthless ignoring or saying “no”to whatever is contrary to your desired actions. Extreme self vanity is good. For example because my physical physique is so important to me, I intentionally say “no”to sugar, carbs, and any foods which will ruin my physique. When others criticize me for this, they’re simply trying to superimpose their world view upon me, and they’re also trying to allay their own personal self-guilt for eating “unhealthy”foods.
- Having heroes or individuals you aspire towards: For example, my admiration at the work ethic of The Rock, the personal courage of Nassim Taleb to call out the phonies, the courage of Steve Jobs to thrust his own artistic sensibilities upon others, Elon Musks immense focus on building technologies to advance humankind, Kanye’s gift to ignore others and say what’s in his heart.
- Changing your morals and ethics: I believe that for many of us, our inability to change ourselves is somehow tied to some moralistic or ethical thing. For example we’re afraid of living a certain lifestyle because we don’t warm to “offend”others or “hurt”others. A retraining of our psyche is essential.
- Having insane self faith: You’re not just a normal “human”. We are BEYOND human — we are the new breed of humans. Thus don’t let any petty thinking like “I’m not capable of that”hold you back. You’re capable of 100x more than you think you are!
GO HARD!
ERIC