Training Willpower
How we can help kids to marshall their will and become more tenacious
Motivation is fleeting. Even the most committed performer does not always feel like training or going to practice. It demands willpower to do what is necessary when motivation levels are not high. Even on a good day it takes willpower to engage in those parts of the process that the performer does not enjoy or that they find a struggle. Something that separates those who are successful is that they do the work on the days when they do not feel like it and choose to practice the things that they are not good at. Another difference-maker is the ability to stick to the task, resist distraction and defy the urge to take shortcuts or give up. All of these things take mental effort and require willpower.
Clearly willpower is an important resource to win the daily battles to diligently practice and persist through challenge. Few would argue that willpower, perseverence and tenacity are important factors for success. These are often assumed to be fixed traits rather than assets that can be cultivated. Mindset matters when it comes to our ability to manifest and sustain willpower. It is a common belief that willpower is a limited resource, such that we only have a fixed budget and we must use it wisely. This idea is self-reinforcing: when we believe it is a fixed and limited resource our willpower is more easily depleted. This conception also renders willpower more fragile and more affected by sleep status or acute changes in blood glucose. In other words, our ability engage willpower and be tenacious is impaired to a greater degree when tired, distressed or hungry if we believe that willpower is fixed and limited.
The truth is that the ability to exert willpower is not necessarily fixed. It is possible to develop habits that make us better able to draw upon willpower. We can also increase our capacity to sustain the will to persevere through challenge. We can also make our ability to engage willpower more robust to fluctuations in our physiological state, in part by changing our beliefs.
One of the most beneficial things we can do for aspiring young performers and kids in general is to reframe how they think about willpower and understand that it is trainable. Conceiving of willpower as a muscle than can be trained is powerful in itself, but it also means that they can invest in training or practice to develop their capacity and capability to exercise their willpower. In other words, the willpower that they have at their disposal is something that they can grow and their ability to harness it can also be developed if they work at it.
Happily, the day-to-day life of a student athlete offers abundant opportunities to train willpower. Moreover, the training effect is more potent when the internal resistance to engage and the tempation to take the easy option are especially high. The extra effort that it takes to get off the sofa and train when we are really not feeling like it brings greater rewards, not only in the satisfaction we feel once the workout is done but also in honing our ability to marshall our willpower and win the battle when we next face a deficit in our motivation to practice or work out. The mini wins when we resist the urge to distract ourselves during a workout, go through the motions or give up prematurely are similarly rewarded in strengthening our ability to resist and endure in future. Understanding the potential rewards of doing the hard thing and resisting temptations when they arise transforms these internal struggles from just something to get through to an opportunity to strengthen the mind.
Sleep and nutrition status affect the degree to which we need to rely upon our willpower, so performers can also stack the odds in their favour by taking care of themselves. In a depleted state it is harder to access willpower and reserves of willpower and tenacity are more easily expended. Most of us can attest that when tired, hungry and/or stressed we find it harder to do the right thing when it is the harder thing and we are more inclined to take the easy way out. If young performers manage themselves and ensure they are getting adequate sleep and nutrition they give themselves the best chance to resist temptation and persist in the face of challenge.
Crucially, the propensity to harness and sustain willpower prove to be transferable skills. Continuing one of the central themes of the Athlete Generation project, the benefits accrued through sport once again extend to kids’ lives outside the arena. Practising self discipline during the course of their youth sports journey will make kids better able to deploy these resources in other domains, such as school and other facets of their life beyond sport.