Willpower Leveraging

I believe a foundational mindset that anyone needs to have to create the life they want for themselves is a disciplined mindset. They need to consistently do what most serves them, their goals, and the life they want to create. Otherwise their actions (on inaction) will be actively manifesting a different, undesirable reality.

Discipline is a complex topic because it has a lot of layers to it. The top layer is self-control and willpower where you can make yourself do whatever it is you tell yourself to do. At face value, this can be useful in the short-term... But it’s way more useful when used strategically.

There’s a concept called ‘Willpower Leveraging’ where you make yourself take uncomfortable action in such a way that it greatly promotes discipline in future moments. It’s making the intentional choice to use a small amount of willpower right now so that you have a lot of discipline when you need it later.

For example, telling a waitress to “Skip the french fries” is an easy sentence to say, and an effective way to intervene as it prevents you from actively needing to restrain yourself from eating french fries when they’re on your plate.

Or how making a precommitment to a mentor that you’ll get a project done by a certain date makes it much easier to start working on it the following week because now you have a promise you need to deliver on.

Leverage is when you put a certain amount in and you get more out. The higher the ratio between inputs and outputs, the more leverage. Thus ‘willpower leveraging’ is about being a little disciplined in one way such that it produces major discipline in others. 

Essentially, willpower leveraging is a form of environmental design because it impacts the context of future moments. As author Steve Levinson says in his book “Following Through”, it influences ‘the situation’ so that vices aren’t present, commitments are clear and known by others, and poor choices aren’t as accessible.

Practicing willpower leveraging is simple, but it’s also a skill you develop. You need the awareness to know what ways you can effectively intervene, and have the ability to summon the will to take action on the intervention. It’s easier said than done, which is why I’ve tried to make it as systematized as possible for myself: 

In the 21 Day Super Habits Challenge, I share a variety of ways you can use willpower leveraging to help you be more disciplined in your health habits and more focused by warding off distractions throughout the day. It also helps you implement a foundational system so that you can create more leverage in your life overall and start getting more positive results with less effort.

If you’re curious to check that out, I have more about the 21 Day Super Habits, check it out here!