7. REMOVE TEMPTATIONS AND DISTRACTIONS
Extended willpower is the concept that in order to improve your willpower, you should avoid situations that will offer temptation for the habits you are trying to avoid. For example, if an individual wants to cut down on their drinking, it doesn’t make sense to hang out in bars all the time.
Making small changes to your own environments can have big effects in the long run. If you want to eat less sugar and snack more on spinach, nuts and fruit, then don’t leave the ice cream in the freezer. Give it away and stock up on healthier foods. This means that the next time you need a bite to eat, all you have available are the healthier options to choose from.
It’s easy to make the right choices when we are fresh, awake and happy, yet much more difficult when feeling tired, stressed or down. Removing any negative temptations altogether means that you don’t have the option of making the bad choice, even when you want to.
Try putting these practices into effect
- Identify distractions
- Turn off notifications on your phone which are not urgent
- Be selective about what and who you surround yourself with
- Put your phone on airplane mode whilst training and working
This last one is especially important for training. We all know an athlete that spends more time on their phone than they do on working out every time they are in the Box. Don’t be that guy.
Focus on the task at hand and give it 100% attention, whatever you are doing.
Finally, Ben Bergeron, the coach of Katrin Davidsdottir, hits the nail on the head completely with a quote that he often uses:
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.”
Improving discipline and willpower for CrossFit training, healthy eating and general life is hard. It takes time to turn what we know we should do into habits that we regularly perform, and discipline to make it happen.
What other tips or tricks do you use? Any that should be added to this list? Let us know in the comments section.
Image Sources
- Rowing: Ryan Edy
- improve-willpower-crossfit: Stevie D Photography