I am still pretty pumped up after finishing my yoga training course at The Practice recently.
I LOVED going deep, deep, deep into the (actual) traditional teachings of the yogi’s, which were trialed, refined and repeated over 1000’s of years.
And you want to know what?
They were most interested in HOW TO THRIVE (as opposed to creating content for their Instagram account…ha ha ha).
That goal does not sound too different from where we are today.
Most of us are also trying to figure out what things will make life easier, more fulfilling, more meaningful, filled with more of what we most desire and with the vitality to enjoy all of the great things we create.
I reckon after a few 1000 years of refinement; we might also figure out the best way to do it.
So, let’s dive into this “thing” that both Neuroscientists and ancient yogi’s agreed was a key piece to the THRIVING in life game.
Neuroscientists and Yogi’s agree
Over the course of writing my books (6 now in total), I spent a lot of time reading a lot of other books, and listening to many conversations and podcasts, on the topics of happiness, success, thriving, and the likes.
And a specific topic that came up often, and was eventually synthesized into complete books, was the topic of WILLPOWER (e.g. Willpower by Baumeister and Tierney).
You may have heard of the “marshmallow experiment” done with children, where they were told they could have ONE marshmallow now (which was right in front of them), or if they used their WILLPOWER and waited for a period of time (probably not knowing how long), they could have TWO marshmallows.
The experiment was designed to measure the children’s ability to exercise willpower.
Those with the most willpower got two marshmallows.
But the real outcome of the experiment was to see if those children, with the most willpower, thrived differently throughout life (as they got older).
The outcome was the idea that kids (and people) with the greatest willpower actually thrived more in life, and it was posited that Willpower trumped IQ when it comes to success in life.
And funnily enough, the yogis had been making the same claim for a few thousand years.
They know that WILLPOWER is indeed a Superpower, and essential for thriving in life.
They even created a whole science around how to make the inner fire of willpower burn more brightly.
They also understood – more accurately – where the inner fire (to get sh#t done) was located.
Traditional Hatha Yoga and Willpower
Whereas the more traditional neuroscientists would suggest that the centre for Willpower was located in the brain – in the region of the prefrontal cortex – the yogis (and the more exploratory neuroscientists like Dr Joe Dispenza) have a different idea of its origins.
Have you ever heard the term: “They had a fire in their belly, which made them unstoppable”?
We have probably all felt it ourselves.
It is that thing (burning) deep in our guts that allows us to overcome the biggest obstacles life puts in our way, as opposed to the sensation being a brain thing.
The yogis believed the centre for our will and willpower was at our navel centre, and what they called the Manipura Chakra, which is also the 3rd Chakra.
It is a collection point of energy channels (10), which also regulates the digestion, elimination and metabolism processes, and the actual generation of energy.
The yogis also spoke about ‘stoking the fire‘ at this centre (Rudrani), to burn away life and karmic stuff (which I call “Junk in the Trunk“), and generating energy, which moves into the upper Chakra’s.
What Dr Joe Dispenza also calls the energy centers for “elevated emotional states”.
This is actually the TRUE teachings and intention of yoga.
Not the fancy, unstable and energy depleting poses of most modern yoga; but the deliberate and intentional progression on strategically sequenced, highly stable poses – which can be held for longer – to cultivate the ideal environment to stoke the fire within the navel centre.
To essentially, give us the power (willpower) to get sh#t done.
The yogis knew that with greater access to high amounts of (purified) willpower, we can overcome hard activities, mundane activities, random obstacles, and even mental resistance, which may stand in the way of us and our ultimate achievements.
IQ is not the primary currency.
A long list of names after a networking event, is not the primary currency.
A 57-page Business Plan is not the primary currency.
The inheritance is not the primary currency.
To truly thrive in all aspects of life – personal, relationships, and professional – the greater our level of WILLPOWER, the greater our ability is to thrive.
ESPECIALLY when life throws us the inevitable curve balls.
Willpower is likely to save the day.
(The Stoics were also big on cultivating willpower).
How to build Willpower
And yes, this is a big plug; but learning exactly how (using the science of Traditional Hatha Yoga) at somewhere like The Practice, might be a good start.
The other ways for me, to build up my willpower muscles (and stoke the fire in my belly) are:
- Do hard physical stuff like 8 chin-ups every morning (where we overcome our lower mind).
- Do mentally and physically hard things like fasting over multiple days (again to overcome the lower / survival mind).
- Get up early and go to bed early (to overcome the little voice that wants to ‘lounge’).
- Do some cold water exposure (again overcoming the lower mind).
- Practice staying longer on mundane tasks (when your mind is telling you to stop, because it is SO boring).
- Doing breathwork like Wim Hof or some of the older yogic pranayama and kriyas.
- Remove some activity you like doing, or food you adore, for 30-days (this was a common one with the Stoics)
I think you get the gist.
In Summary
Willpower trumps IQ.
Willpower will allow you to overcome obstacles and resistance, even with the least impressive ‘plan’.
Willpower is cultivated in the body and not necessarily in the mind.
Traditional Hatha Yoga (like taught at The Practice ;-)) have very specific practices to stoke the fire and build up your unstoppable will.
My Parting Words
I really loved immersing myself back in the very traditional teachings of yoga recently.
It allowed me to refine exactly how I practice yoga to get the ideal results.
Which are:
- The ability to thrive in all domains.
- Building up my personal power (willpower).
- Making me more physically and psychologically resilient to dumb sh#t, which happens in our topsy turvy world at times.
- Better cultivation and management of energy in my body, to expediate healing.
- Tuning up my intuition – beyond the 5 senses.
- Raising my general level of consciousness, and awareness.
I have said for a while now, that my North Star in life is to raise my level of consciousness, so I am always grateful to have new tools in my toolkit to make that happen.
Because I am reminded – time and time again – that adding consciousness to anything amplifies it.
Not only with power, but with innate intelligence.
The idea of high levels of conscious willpower – responsive to my desires – really excites me.
What then, becomes possible?
So, on that, how would you rate your Willpower on a scale of 1-10 (where 1 is crap and 10 is off the charts)?
What could you do to take it up a couple of notches?
Then, do that. 😉
Have a willfully inspired day, and a week of willpower related tune-ups.
Take care.
Carl
Quotable QUOTE:
“Willpower will always trump IQ, when playing the long-term game of life.” Carl Massy
(Author of 18 Ways We Make Life WAY Harder Than It Needs To Be)
PS: Have you read or listened to this book yet? 18 Ways We Make Life WAY Harder Than It Needs To Be
