Do you struggle with willpower? There are a lot of areas in our lives that require willpower: diet, exercise, budget, prayer, and so many more. Danielle shares ideas on how to help you increase your willpower.
Snippet from the Show
It is not our own strength, but the grace of God that helps us to accomplish good things.
Shownotes
My new book, Whisper: Finding God in the Everyday, is available to order!
Ideas to Help with Self-Discipline in Different Areas of Your Life
Make a plan to make it easy.
Remove sources of temptation and, as much as possible, set yourself up for success by planning ahead to make your new habit a no-brainer.
Do one thing at a time.
As tempting as it is sometimes to give ourselves an “extreme makeover,” taking on too many changes at once will overwhelm you and you will give up.
Replace it with something.
Think about what need or desire the thing you are trying to give up fills for you and replace it with a more positive and healthy version. Maybe go for a walk when you are bored instead of scrolling Instagram.
Make sure you are taking care of yourself.
If you aren’t getting proper rest, nutrition, exercise, and prayer, you will find yourself depleted and exhausted with no willpower to accomplish your goals.
Track your progress.
Keep a journal, use an app to track your exercise, or mark the days on the calendar. Look for a way to track your progress and get motivated by seeing how far you’ve come.
Seek out support.
Join an online group or share your goals with a close friend who can be an “accountability partner” for you. Learning from and sharing with others who have goals similar to yours will motivate and encourage you.
PRAY!
You knew this one was coming, but like we said at the start, we need God for every good thing we might ever accomplish in life. Ask God for the grace to stay strong, avoid temptation and grow more and more into the person he made you to be.
Listener Question (30:49)
At the end of today’s show, Danielle shares some listener feedback from Patryce who recommends the book Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones by James Clear. A very appropriate book for this week’s topic. Thank you, Patryce!
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Megan Madden
Megan Madden is a homeschooling mother with a passion for writing and speaking on authentic femininity and virtuous womanhood. In 2017, she began graduate studies in marriage and family at the International Theological Institute in Austria. After moving to Kraków, Poland to work with university students, Megan more personally continued her research on the complementarity of man and woman, particularly on the question of what it means to be a woman. She delved into the study of renowned Catholic writers on women such as St. Edith Stein, Gertrude von le Fort, Alice von Hildebrand, St. John Paul II, and St. Teresa of Avila.
The results were the development of Megan’s online ministry A Mother’s Lace, as well as speaking opportunities and her book with Ascension: Mary, Teach Me to Be Your Daughter.
Megan lives outside of Oxford, England with her husband, who is a lecturer in theology, and their five children.
