This is a fascinating study tracking people’s will power and wellbeing over time. Increases in well being preceded increases in will power rather than vice versa! A summary of the article can be found here.
Often when I am asked to coach someone it is because they can’t see their way out of their current situation – and that’s leading them to be stressed. After we establish where they want to get to we then look at where they are currently – this often includes poor wellbeing. I start them off on a few basic things to improve their self care. When we catch up the next time they have had some wins on the self care front and are feeling better about their problem as well.
I always thought that the process of them getting some small wins created a positive impact that started to help them see they can control more than they realised (getting them into the influence part of the circle of influence). Based on this research, perhaps their self control/will power also improves with increases in wellbeing?
So how do we make some changes to improve our wellbeing without having willpower! The answer is start with something so small that your brain can’t talk you out of it. Here’s a short video on forming habits – the domino’s analogy is a great way of thinking about achieving big goals by starting really small!
We also need to have something to remind us to do it. The Power of habit cue, routine and reward is a great way of kick starting a new habit and having the tools to make changes.
