Eric (paraphrasing): will power is good and useful
. . .
Robert: This may be. But appeals to will power,
and willing in general, have the disadvantage of
ignoring such common phenomena as trying but failing.
Eric: Certainly. But by will power, I did not mean
to suggest an inner drill sergeant who forces
change on the grunt in one's internal boot camp.
Will power isn't about using one part of the mind
to boss the rest around. Rather, will power seems
to operate in several stages:
*recognizing what's going on, identifying a habit
or behavior as undesirable or destructive, and
watching how the habit works to support personal
identity, fill needs, soothe unsatisfactory situations
*being of single mind about change, which is
essentially about paying attention to what's going
on and what is required to change, and is not
about using one part of the mind to force the rest
into doing something one is ambivalent about
*following through, which is using one's will to
carry on the change, maintaining the insight and
unity of mind gained in the earlier stages.
I quit smoking this way, without patches or
support groups. Highly recommend it. To me the
most interesting part is the first part--paying
attention to what is actually going on, especially
as this shows how one's self-concept is linked to
one's habits.
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