Our Lady of Weight Loss

Willpower vs. Want-Power

Thursday July 3, 2008

Categories: inspiration, weight loss

ART want power.jpgThere is no such thing as willpower. If the cake calls your name, who amongst us has the willpower to just say, "no!?" We are more than likely than not to cave in and eat it! Want Power means that we want to lose weight enough to make sure that there's no cake in the house - that we want to be thin enough to go that extra mile - to do what it takes!

Build Your Want Power Muscle from Beliefnet Blogger, Janice Taylor.

Do you know what you want?
Sometimes it is easier to know what we DON'T want rather than what we DO want. In order for you to build your want power muscle so that your want power is stronger than Popeye after a can of spinach, try this:

Before every shopping expedition, television show, meeting, phone call to family member; in other words, before every event or decision, ask yourself "What do I want?"

"What do I want?" Would you prefer to buy a black dress or a brown dress? Did you want to make low-fat pizza for dinner tonight or a mammoth chicken salad? Did you want to watch "Weeds" or "Big Love?" From the most mundane to the most serious of decisions, just pause and ask, "What do I want?"

Low-Wattage Light-Bulb Moments
I found this exercise extremely helpful. Almost every pause set off a low-wattage light-bulb moment. It became clear that I often went to movies that I did not want to go to in order to appease people who I really didn't want to appease. I ate at restaurants and ordered food that I really did not want, because I did not want to annoy anyone. I stayed places way longer than necessary. Connecting to these 'a-ha want' moments shed some light on my under-developed want muscle.

As these little wants connected to bigger wants, my want muscle grew stronger. I was able to get in touch with my gut feelings - my emotional state as well as the physical sensations that connected to really wanting something. My decision making process became a lot more fluid and stronger, and I began to clearly see what I wanted (vs. what I did not want).

What do you want?

New Point of View: There is no such thing as willpower only want power!

Spread the word, not the icing!
Janice

For second helpings of want power, join Our Lady's Kick in the Tush Club community.

And pick up a copy of All Is Forgiven, Move On (builds want power muscles 101 ways)!

Advertisement
Comments
Carol
July 14, 2008 2:26 AM

WOW! This article definitely was an "aha" moment for me. As a life long "pleaser" (aka co-dependent), it has always been easier for me to abdicate my wants in place of strong willed others. I have learned over a lifetime that it seemed easier to simply go with the flow and let others choose what they want in place of having potential conflict by asking for what I want.

Will this work for me? I don't yet know but I am willing to try. The lifetime of letting everyone else have what they WANT has resulted in enough internal grief that I am now ready to deserve to receive what I want and need.

Anyone else in this boat?

natalya
July 14, 2008 10:06 AM

the power of "what do i want" is very important in all aspects of life. It is a great tool not only for weight loss but for many other important decisions we make in our lifes. The key is not to give in into the power of "what do I want RIGHT NOW" but treat "what kind of outcome do I want" thanks, great tips

Louis Sarno
July 14, 2008 6:14 PM

I do not belive in will power,because we our all born with free will, the right to choose wrong or right. Some people may think they beat something, but the Lord is sitting in the ring. I do not belive even if you disagree you must always remember God is love, and may not belive it you just don't know Him and how He works. But many think their doing it alone, think first.....

Goodluck Pelebo
July 18, 2008 1:22 PM

You are wrong to say that there is nothing called will-power but want power. I will tell you the difference btwn. will-power and want- power. Will power helps you to do what want power has wanted you to get. There is no want power without the will power to accomplish your want. For example, I may use my want-power to want to stop smoking. The want-power cannot make me stop smoking, but if I have the will- power in me I can stop smoking. As humans we may wamt any thing we desire, but without the will power, or the "gut" as we call it. We will accomplish nothing. Your want-power, desire-power, whatever power you possess, without the will to accomplish it. Without the will to accoimplish your want, or desire, you will end up empty.

Laura Hanberg
July 25, 2008 11:10 AM

Interesting - this is something so simple but I never thought about "want Power" as opposed to will power. I think they go hand in hand. Want power kind of puts it a little more into perepctive though. When I do want that piece of cake I guess I need to think what do I want more, that 2 minute taste good or the long haul of a healthier lifestyle? So then my will power kicks in and makes it easier because I have really thought about what is more important to me. Thanks for the advice and thoughts.

Read All Comments

Post a Comment

By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.



Please type the text you see in the box below to verify your post and help us prevent spam. You have a limited time to type - you may wish to compose your comment in a separate document and paste it here upon completion.

Type the characters you see in the picture above.

Advertisement

Search This Blog

About Our Lady of Weight Loss

"Janice Taylor is a 'kooky genius'"
~ O, The Oprah Magazine

Janice Taylor is a Weight Loss Coach and Certified Hypnotist, author, artist and motivational speaker. She is the author of Our Lady of Weight Loss: Miraculous and Motivational Musings from the Patron Saint of Permanent Fat Removal and All Is Forgiven, Move On: Our Lady of Weight Loss's 101 Fat-Burning Steps on Your Journey to Sveltesville (publication date May 15, 2008). Janice is also the creator of the popular e-newsletter Kick in the Tush Club and a 50-pound big-time-loser.

Books By Janice:

book_ourlady2.jpg   book_allisforgiven2.jpg

Janice wants to be your friend!
Sign in to connect with her.

Join the Kick in the Tush Club in the Beliefnet community!

feed icon Subscribe

RSS Feed

Receive updates from Our Lady of Weight Loss

Calendar

Advertisement

Advertisement


About Beliefnet

Our mission is to help people like you find, and walk, a spiritual path that will bring comfort, hope, clarity, strength, and happiness. More about Beliefnet.

Legal

Copyright © Beliefnet, Inc. and/or its licensors. All rights reserved. Use of this site is subject to Terms of Service and to our Privacy Policy. Constructed by Beliefnet.

Advertisement

Report as Inappropriate

You are reporting this content because it violates the Terms of Service.

All reported content is logged for investigation.