In life, willpower is everything:

1. Degrees of willpower

My thought:

Willpower exists, but exists in different degrees in human beings.

For example, I (after training) consider myself to have more willpower than some other people. Furthermore, it seems that successful people are those who have stronger willpower than others.

2. Can you blame others with weaker willpower?

Now this is tricky. Can you blame someone else for having weaker willpower than you? I don’t think so. It seems most people have been domesticated their whole life. Do you blame a housekept neutered dog for not being as wild, brave, or adventurous? Of course not. It’s just how they were raised and trained.

But what’s the difference between animals and ourselves? We have the ability to train ourselves, change ourselves, and become stronger (if we have enough courage and will).

3. Simple ideas

1. Intermittent fasting (no breakfast or lunch, only dinner)
2. No sugars, carbs, starches, breads, riches, root vegetables
3. No fruit or sweet stuff
4. Powerlifting (one rep max attempts for deadlift and squat)
5. Cold showers or ice baths (can be very short)
6. Walk outside in the winter (for short periods of time) with only a t shirt and shorts (cold training)
7. Heat training: Hot sauna, steam sauna.

To first start training your willpower, start with becoming physiologically very strong, and have master self-discipline over yourself.

4. Belief in self

To train your willpower, you must realize for yourself that willpower is a muscle which can be trained. It ain’t some generic hocus pocus.

This means:

Don’t believe in “genetics”— believe you are the ultimate master of your own fate and life.

This also means, allow your ego to swell to gargantuan levels.

5. The more muscular strength you have, the more mental willpower you have

I’m sure Hercules had more willpower than the rest of us. Why? His pure muscular strength and physical strength.

I’m convinced — physical strength requires about 90% mental willpower and focus. And mental willpower requires 90% physical willpower and focus.

6. The importance of physiological energy

Let’s say you only slept 1 hour last night. Obviously it will be difficult for you to have willpower to do x, y, z. This is why it’s essential to conquer insomnia, and wakeup naturally (no alarm clock!)

7. Set arbitrary challenges for yourself to train yourself

It seems that to test your willpower and train it, set arbitrary challenges for yourself. To see if you can set a goal for yourself and stick to it.

It doesn’t really matter if you fail or not. The more important thing is putting forth maximum willpower and effort. If you put in maximum effort and fail, it’s not a big deal. Just lower the intensity or the difficulty by a few degrees, and try again!