10 SIMPLE EXERCISES THAT WILL STRENGTHEN

YOUR WILLPOWER!
1 .         10 M IN UT ES OF M ED IT AT IO N
Meditation will give you the fastest results of all of the willpower workouts listed. By
meditating you are training the brain to focus and resist the urge to wander. Research shows that
after just 2-3 days of practicing meditation for 10 minutes, your brain will be able to focus better,
you will have more energy, and you will be less stressed. [1]
To get started with 10 minutes of meditation, check out this article.  It will provide you with all of
the benefits of mediation as well as simple exercise designed specifically for beginners.
2 .         W OR K ON Y OU R PO ST UR E
When testing if willpower could be strengthened, researchers asked a group of participants to work
on their posture for a 2-week period. Every time they caught themselves slouching, they were to
correct themselves by sitting up straight. This simple practice vastly improved their perseverance
on various willpower tests like this one. [2]
To get started, simply correct your posture every time you catch yourself slouching at work or
at home. It sounds extremely simple, but it takes willpower to sit up straight. Every time you do,
you’re essentially doing “one rep” with your willpower muscle.
3 .         K EE P A FO OD D IA RY  
The same study also found that those who kept a food diary improved their willpower. Most of us
don’t log all of the food we eat, so it takes willpower to keep track of it all. Any similar logging of
information will also work, but I recommend a food diary because of all of its benefits listed
here. [2]
To get started, I recommend downloading the MyFitnessPal App. It’s a simple food diary app that
has a huge database of foods and nutrition information. Just keep the diary for 2 weeks, and it
will increase your ability to resist temptations!
4 .         U SE YO UR O PPO SI TE H AN D  
Using the same methodology as with posture, researchers conducted further studies that tested other
corrective actions. One that worked particularly well was to use your opposite hand. Your brain is
wired to use your dominant hand, so it takes willpower to use the opposite. [3]
To get started, select a chunk of the day to use your opposite hand. It doesn’t need to be any
more than an hour in order to get results. And from personal experience, if you aim for more than
an hour, you will unnecessarily tire out your willpower muscle.
5 .         C OR RE CT YO UR SP EE CH
Another test that the researchers conducted was to change subjects’ natural speech. This
includes resisting the urge to use swear words, or to say “hello” instead of “hey”. Again, it
takes willpower to consciously go against your instincts. It doesn’t matter how you correct your
speech, as long as you change your natural speech habits. [3]
To get started, select a chunk of the day to practice and choose the words you will
change. Personally, I tried not using contractions (using “do not” instead of “don’t”, etc.) during
work hours and it worked very well. Like all exercises listed above, doing this for just 2 weeks can
vastly improve your willpower!
6 . CR EA TE A ND ME ET SE LF- IM PO SE D D EA DL IN ES  
Anyone who remembers their college days, remembers what it was like cramming for a test or
doing a last minute paper. Your willpower gets taxed as you try to tune out distractions and become
hyper-productive. Using this same principle, researchers found that by creating self-imposed
deadlines you can work your willpower in the same way.
To get started, simply pick a task on your to-do list that you may have been putting off. Set a
deadline for accomplishing it, and make sure you adhere to it. The participants who followed
this process for 2 weeks not only got their old to-dos done, but also improved their diets, exercised
more, and cut back on cigarettes and alcohol. [3] 
7 . KE EP TR AC K OF YO UR SP EN DI NG
In the same way most of us don’t track the food that we eat, many of us don’t track our spending
either. Even if you don’t cut back on spending – which would also be a willpower workout –
researchers found that simply keeping track of where your money went will improve your
willpower. [4] 
To get stated, try using a budgeting app like Mint. Mint can connect to your bank account, credit
cards, etc. and automatically track your purchases. By simply reviewing this on a regular basis, you
will see increases in your focus and ability to resist unrelated temptations like sweets.
8 . SQ UE EZ E A H AN DG RI P
For the truly determined who want to increase their perseverance, you can squeeze
a handgrip until exhaustion. If you’ve ever squeezed one before, you know that it gives you a deep
forearm burn. So it takes willpower to keep squeezing. [5]
To get started, simply get a handgrip like this one, and squeeze it with each hand until you’re
exhausted. Willing yourself to continue squeezing even when it hurts will increase your
perseverance on other challenging tasks.
9 . CA RR Y AR OU ND SO ME TH IN G T EMP TI NG
Again, for the truly determined out there, you can increase your ability to say "no" by carrying
around something tempting with you all day. Researchers tried this with participants by teaching
them how to resist cravings, then giving them a Hershey’s Kiss to carry around with them. Those
who resisted the Kiss were much more capable of resisting other temptations in their lives as well!
[6]
To get started, first learn how to resist a craving. This will be hard, so your will want to know
how to deal with the craving. Then carry something small but tempting with you.It doesn’t need
to be for an entire day, but for long enough that you will be truly tempted. By consistently saying
"no", you will increase your ability to resist other temptations and ignore distractions!
10 . BE MO RE CO NS CI OU S O F YO UR AU TO MA TI C
D EC IS IO NS
A final exercise is to simply be more mindful of your decisions throughout the day. We are often so
lost in thought, that our actions become automatic. Taking time to think about why you are making
your daily decisions will increase your ability to focus and resist temptations. [3]
To get started, try to catch yourself in an automatic behavior and ask yourself why you are
doing it. This may be questioning why you are eating cereal instead of eggs for breakfast, or it may
be questioning why exactly you put 2 sugars in your coffee. Any way you can think consciously
about a typical automatic behavior will increase your focus and self-control.
C ON CL US IO N
Like all muscles in the body, willpower can be strengthened with the right practice. Above you will
find 10 practical and effective ways to strengthen your self-control, focus and perseverance. Do not
try to do all 10 at once.
Think about training your willpower muscle like training for a marathon. Your first training run
wouldn’t be the full 26 miles or even close to that. You would start small and gradually build up as
your muscles got stronger. So choose just 1 of these workouts to add to your daily routine.
Determine which workout seems practical and effective for the goal you want to achieve and get to
work. By simply following the steps laid out, you will be well on your way to becoming more
mentally strong!