The Best Minute: On success, failure, and willpower

2 QUOTES FROM OTHERS

I. Bob Goff on being used by God:

“I used to think you had to be special for God to use you, but now I know you simply need to say yes.”

II. Booker T. Washington on how to measure success:

“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.”

2 IDEAS FROM ME

I. Good habits are more important than proper motivation.

When we rely on motivation, we become prisoners to doing whatever we feel like doing at the moment. The problem is what we want to do is often not what we should be doing. Instead, focus on creating simple habits that move you to action automatically instead of thinking about whether or not you want to do it.

II. The difference between success and failure often comes down to how willing we are to fail. Those that are willing to fail often succeed. Those who are afraid to fail often won’t do what it takes to succeed.

1 RANDOM FACT

Willpower is like a muscle - it needs rest and glucose to function best.

Much like muscles can become fatigued when they are overused, when your willpower fails you it is because it is over-worked and under-nourished. Our brains require glucose to operate and when they don’t have enough of it, our cognitive resources (attention, concentration); our executive functioning (planning, decision making); and our willpower all begin to drop or fail. That is why crash diets often end in binging—they deplete the person’s willpower so severely that they lose their self-control all at once and eat everything in sight.

Therefore, be aware of how much effort and willpower you’re exerting during the day and make sure to rest, eat a little, and be ready to be more vigilant and revisit your motivations when you begin to feel your willpower fading. By taking control of your willpower you are doing the one thing that is crucial to overcoming failure:

Source: Psychology Today