Self-discipline is one of the major facets of willpower, and it can develop like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. Successfully resisting a temptation serves to develop a capacity for resistance that is commensurate to the strength of the suppressed temptation, and it helps build greater strength for overcoming future challenges.
The more you manage to resist temptations, and the stronger the temptations you overcome, the stronger you get, and the better you become at resisting temptations in the future.
“Willpower is trying very hard not to do something you want to do very much.” (John Ortberg, Christian author, speaker)
“To have an impulse and to resist it, to sit with it and examine it, to let it pass by like a bad smell—this is how we develop spiritual strength. This is how we become who we want to be in this world. Only those of us who take the time to explore, to question, to extrapolate the consequences of our desires have an opportunity to overcome them and to stop regrets before they start.” (Ryan Holiday, American author, modern Stoic)
“Willpower is the ability to eat one salted peanut.” (Anonymous)
Getting Personal
From your own personal experiences, have you ever resisted a temptation with the effect of stopping regrets before they start? What was the temptation, and what future regrets did you prevent?
….Top of page image, Bitten Cookie, by Fabrikasimf, from freepik.com
