Clever Clogs
Posts: 670 
January 22nd, 2007, 08:39 AM
If one has the need, or desire, to change, one can always do so. My husband, ten years ago, quit smoking. He just stopped one morning and has not had a cigarette since. Was it hard-yes! But he convinced himself he needed to change and he did it.
Quoting jimmoyer
LOL L.Gilbert, the myth of will power lives on.
You just might be an exceptional case.
Most people can't insist on denying themselves a pleasure day after day.
But you can program yourself, a form of self hypnosis, to be more relaxed
and thus look forward to other things. It then becomes a semantics issue if you still
call that will power.
Will power, to me, is living a life of denying yourself something and that is a plan to fail
for most people.
(As an aside, I might want to add that CUTTING BACK is something I wouldn't do to my
worst enemy. This hideous idea, innocent in its intent, actually causes slow Chinese torture
of withdrawal.)
You just might be an exceptional case.
Most people can't insist on denying themselves a pleasure day after day.
But you can program yourself, a form of self hypnosis, to be more relaxed
and thus look forward to other things. It then becomes a semantics issue if you still
call that will power.
Will power, to me, is living a life of denying yourself something and that is a plan to fail
for most people.
(As an aside, I might want to add that CUTTING BACK is something I wouldn't do to my
worst enemy. This hideous idea, innocent in its intent, actually causes slow Chinese torture
of withdrawal.)
If one has the need, or desire, to change, one can always do so. My husband, ten years ago, quit smoking. He just stopped one morning and has not had a cigarette since. Was it hard-yes! But he convinced himself he needed to change and he did it.
Steven Hawking's Tutor
Posts: 4,867 
Location: Winchester Virginia
Location: Winchester Virginia
January 22nd, 2007, 08:46 AM
There's no doubt that one ingredient in succeeding quitting smoking is that YOU HAVE TO
WANT TO QUIT.
That's not will power. That is just the desire to quit. And it must be a strong desire, sincerely
meant.
Hypnosis itself, or self-hypnosis would not work without such a strong desire.
How you maintain keeping to that decision is the issue.
And will power, the denial of day after day temptations, wears down most ambition to quit.
It's harder without some form of self programming gearing you to look forward to
something else, instead of the negative approach of denying yourself an immediate pleasure.
There's no doubt that one ingredient in succeeding quitting smoking is that YOU HAVE TO
WANT TO QUIT.
That's not will power. That is just the desire to quit. And it must be a strong desire, sincerely
meant.
Hypnosis itself, or self-hypnosis would not work without such a strong desire.
How you maintain keeping to that decision is the issue.
And will power, the denial of day after day temptations, wears down most ambition to quit.
It's harder without some form of self programming gearing you to look forward to
something else, instead of the negative approach of denying yourself an immediate pleasure.
Clever Clogs
Posts: 670
January 22nd, 2007, 08:47 AM
It is indeed harder, but it is through will power that we succeed.
Quoting jimmoyer
There's no doubt that one ingredient in succeeding quitting smoking is that YOU HAVE TO
WANT TO QUIT.
That's not will power. That is just the desire to quit. And it must be a strong desire, sincerely
meant.
Hypnosis itself, or self-hypnosis would not work without such a strong desire.
How you maintain keeping to that decision is the issue.
And will power, the denial of day after day temptations, wears down most ambition to quit.
It's harder without some form of self programming gearing you to look forward to
something else, instead of the negative approach of denying yourself an immediate pleasure.
WANT TO QUIT.
That's not will power. That is just the desire to quit. And it must be a strong desire, sincerely
meant.
Hypnosis itself, or self-hypnosis would not work without such a strong desire.
How you maintain keeping to that decision is the issue.
And will power, the denial of day after day temptations, wears down most ambition to quit.
It's harder without some form of self programming gearing you to look forward to
something else, instead of the negative approach of denying yourself an immediate pleasure.
It is indeed harder, but it is through will power that we succeed.
Steven Hawking's Tutor
Posts: 4,867
Location: Winchester Virginia
Location: Winchester Virginia
January 22nd, 2007, 09:39 AM
It is indeed harder, but it is through will power that we succeed.
------------------------marygaspe------------------------------------------
And because it is harder, this method of willing yourself to deny immediate pleasure,
has an extremely high rate of failure.
It is indeed harder, but it is through will power that we succeed.
------------------------marygaspe------------------------------------------
And because it is harder, this method of willing yourself to deny immediate pleasure,
has an extremely high rate of failure.
The Padre
Posts: 4,558
Location: Ontario
Location: Ontario
January 22nd, 2007, 12:51 PM
Never a truer statement made! That's why, I read somewhere anyway, most people don't last past the end of Jan. with New Year's Resolutons.
Quoting jimmoyer
It is indeed harder, but it is through will power that we succeed.
------------------------marygaspe------------------------------------------
And because it is harder, this method of willing yourself to deny immediate pleasure,
has an extremely high rate of failure.
------------------------marygaspe------------------------------------------
And because it is harder, this method of willing yourself to deny immediate pleasure,
has an extremely high rate of failure.
Never a truer statement made! That's why, I read somewhere anyway, most people don't last past the end of Jan. with New Year's Resolutons.
Chief Mogrifier
Posts: 8,796
January 23rd, 2007, 11:53 AM
I think we have to define will power. What we think of as will power is simply that, a measure of strength of will, or a desire to do, or achieve something. Some people achieve far beyond what might be expected of them because they have the will, or desire to succeed. I once saw the end of a fight between a large dog and a much smaller dog. The smaller dog was seriously injured, but it kept on fighting and eventually drove the larger dog off. Was that an example of will power? In my mind it was certainly related to what we call will power.
So, one difinition of will power is: The desire, or the will of an individual to achieve, accomplish, or succeed, at any, and all endeavors.
Or not.....
I think we have to define will power. What we think of as will power is simply that, a measure of strength of will, or a desire to do, or achieve something. Some people achieve far beyond what might be expected of them because they have the will, or desire to succeed. I once saw the end of a fight between a large dog and a much smaller dog. The smaller dog was seriously injured, but it kept on fighting and eventually drove the larger dog off. Was that an example of will power? In my mind it was certainly related to what we call will power.
So, one difinition of will power is: The desire, or the will of an individual to achieve, accomplish, or succeed, at any, and all endeavors.
Or not.....
Steven Hawking's Tutor
Posts: 4,604
January 23rd, 2007, 12:26 PM
I was told I wouldn’t leave the hospital…..
A priest was called….
My first stroke left me paralyzed from the waist down and no feeling/use of my left arm.
My second stroke left me paralyzed and blind.
My third stroke resulted in …(contributed to…) epileptic seizures.. the grand-mal flavor…I’ve come to call them “the fall and flop…”
That was ten years ago.
I regained my vision, I regained some mobility….
It wasn’t a hunger for fame and fortune that kept me going to occupational therapy and physio….
It was the will to rise above adversity….you can call it willpower if you like.
For some the fight to live, to survive against all odds.. (not my first brush with death by any means) is the only drive left.
I’m sure my experiences of what I call willpower will be dismissed as something else…
Vanity or obstinance…anything but willpower…
Some like our friend Sanctus need to call it divine interevention…some will dismiss the will to live…that resevoir of untapped resilience and determination that enables you to overcome enormous hurdles as anything but willpower….
You start dying at the moment of your birth. You can resign yourself to accepting the vicissitudes and outrages of injustice and inequity, you can blame the world and everyone for what’s happening to you…or you can surrender to drugs, violence, any substitute….
If the metric of “survival” is a non-negotiable element when discussing the ethereal character of willpower…. From the jungles of SouthEast Asia to the green/black sky of a tornado whipped chaos on the frothy waters of lake Huron…I’ve experienced willpower a few times…
But then hey I’m just a crank …easily dismissed…
Please carry on…
I was told I wouldn’t leave the hospital…..
A priest was called….
My first stroke left me paralyzed from the waist down and no feeling/use of my left arm.
My second stroke left me paralyzed and blind.
My third stroke resulted in …(contributed to…) epileptic seizures.. the grand-mal flavor…I’ve come to call them “the fall and flop…”
That was ten years ago.
I regained my vision, I regained some mobility….
It wasn’t a hunger for fame and fortune that kept me going to occupational therapy and physio….
It was the will to rise above adversity….you can call it willpower if you like.
For some the fight to live, to survive against all odds.. (not my first brush with death by any means) is the only drive left.
I’m sure my experiences of what I call willpower will be dismissed as something else…
Vanity or obstinance…anything but willpower…
Some like our friend Sanctus need to call it divine interevention…some will dismiss the will to live…that resevoir of untapped resilience and determination that enables you to overcome enormous hurdles as anything but willpower….
You start dying at the moment of your birth. You can resign yourself to accepting the vicissitudes and outrages of injustice and inequity, you can blame the world and everyone for what’s happening to you…or you can surrender to drugs, violence, any substitute….
If the metric of “survival” is a non-negotiable element when discussing the ethereal character of willpower…. From the jungles of SouthEast Asia to the green/black sky of a tornado whipped chaos on the frothy waters of lake Huron…I’ve experienced willpower a few times…
But then hey I’m just a crank …easily dismissed…
Please carry on…
Steven Hawking's Tutor
Posts: 4,867
Location: Winchester Virginia
Location: Winchester Virginia
January 23rd, 2007, 01:38 PM
hOLY beJeeeeezus, MikeyDB.
Mother of Mary !!!
Easily dismissed with a story like that ?
I don't think so.
Your observations most assuredly deserve another look.
I like to occassionally learn something in between my long pontificating filibusters.
hOLY beJeeeeezus, MikeyDB.
Mother of Mary !!!
Easily dismissed with a story like that ?
I don't think so.
Your observations most assuredly deserve another look.
I like to occassionally learn something in between my long pontificating filibusters.
