Willpower Doesn't Work: Discover the Hidden Keys to Success

When I began Reading WillPower doesn’t work, I quickly realized its power and truth. Environment shapes us, and no man is an island. For years, I searched the key to motivation and high performance in the world of positive thinking and self-help books that focused solely on one’s capacity to use internal motivation to succeed. Can you guess what happened? Nearly a decade wen’t by without those extraordinary results I was looking for in my life. When I started Reading WillPower Doesn’t work, a light bulb went up. I was beginning to realize that I was living in a bubble, ignoring the power of context and mentors and believing in the narcissistic thought that I knew it all, that I was a one man — army, and that I could do everything by myself, if I had a Strong enough motivation. As Ben Hardy says: White Knuckling your way to change doesn’t Work.”WillPower doesn’t work entered my life through the most random chain of events possible, and the bubble finally popped. I realized that, if I were to achieve great things, I couldn’t do it by myself, and yes, my environment affects my thinking and my behavior in a direct way. I was sad to realize how much time I’ve wasted living and spending my time in environments that didn’t challenge me, with no one holding me accountable for greater things. But, on the other hand, A new excitement for the amazing possibilities of life reignited inside of me!Now, stick with me as I explain the main principles from the book that impacted my life:# 1 " If you want to be more motivated, you have to take on greater responsibility”,The first area of my life that I applied this powerful concept was in my internship. I study psychology, and was learning Cognitive behavior therapy this semester. In my internship, almost every student from the night shift was picking only one patient from the wait list to work with, and sticking with him/her throughout the entire semester. That was the usual. Then I heard about one guy in the morning period who was working with 7 patients. That blew my mind. The next day I went to talk to him. The difference in his performance and resources was stunning! And the number of tools he had to work with his patients and structure his sessions was amazing. Organizing sheets, day planners, cognitive models forms, educational CBT workbooks for the patients... He was in another level. Plus, he had a certainty and confidence that were moving. Inspired by him, I Scheduled with 4 patients on the same day. 3 of them Showed up. Now I was the guy with most patients in the night shift. I have to admit that I was scared that I couldn’t handle it at first, but the outside pressure to succeed made me do it. Knowing that I had people depending upon me to help them with their problems forced me to spend extra hours in the library working on my knowledge and seeking more resources. The result was my Supervisor complimenting me in the end of the semester, saying that in that specific internship, I was perhaps the one student that demonstrated the greatest hustle and determination to learn! How great is that?#2 Your potencial is shaped by what surrounds youThe next area was fitness. I am a beginner at calisthenics, which is a type of resistance training that uses body weight and bars. I was trying to pull –off the muscle up, A movement in which you throw yourself up in the bar. I've tried this bloody movement for nearly 6 months by myself and got.... Nothing.With the mindset of being around people more advanced than me, I joined a calisthenics group in my neighborhood. 3 weeks after joining in, I could do a muscle up. Funny thing is, I've always known that there were groups like this in my street, but I never thought about joining in. After reading Ben's book, I spotted them and took the initiative to present my self to the group. Besides achieving my initial goal, Now I'm in the most epic calisthenics crew in the neighbourhood and have made some awesome friends!The accountability, the motivation and the support I got from the group allowed me to break through my frustration and to persist, beside learning some awesome tips and shortcuts for faster progression . NEVER underestimate the power of a focused group.#3 Outsource your motivation to High Pressure EnvironmentsEnergized by the new concepts I learned from the book, I decided to relive an old Project that I was really passionate about. For months me and a few friends from college were struggling to assemble a book club, in order to discuss great literature. We tried a few times, and the result was Always the same: one person would read, but the rest of the group procrastinated and didn’t even pick up the book. We tried setting deadlines, but we always ended up postponing the meetings. There was no accountability, which led us to not commit fully. We gave up.Then the idea of outsourcing the pressure to the external environment came into my awareness, through Ben’s book. I linked the dots, and decided to invite a literature professor to be the head of the project, and he accepted! We’ve had a reunion to discuss the books and already organized the first meeting, where two books will be discussed! And check this out: all the participants have already read the first book way ahead of schedule! I guess The fear of disappointing a respected authority made us engage in action and immediately made the group more committed to the project! Now I am happy to say that I am part of what can become a very successful book club in my city!#4 Create your future psychological state by shaping environmental factors in the presentBecoming a Reiki ProThe next area of my life that needed a boost was my bread and butter. I am a reiki practitioner. In case you may be wondering, Reiki is a natural relaxation method originated in Japan. I have Always worked for only a few hours a week, as a way to earn a few bucks. Never took it seriously. However, after reading Bem’s book, I was inspired to achieve more. I decided to set a goal to increase my income considerably. And I began to work to become a respected professional, worthy of gaining the amount of income I was aiming for. The first thing I needed was guidance, and the best way to get it would be to get advice from an expert, because, according to Benjamin Hardy, "High Level Goals Require high level mentoring."With that mindset, I went to Sebrae, a business center in my city, and paid for a marketing consultant. Talking to an experienced professional, opened my mind to ideas I had never thought of before. I left there in awe and ready to attack. The main idea I had absorbed from the consulting was to use instagram to expand my business, which, in the end, was an excellent strategy for outsourcing the pressure to the external environment. I created a business account and started posting stories. One at a time, people would start interacting with my posts. The good thing about building an audience is the fact that it generates a strong commitment. Every day you must feed your audience with knowledge, and that forces you to learn more!And then, of course, I needed to modify my environment to change my state. And the primary thing that affected my emotional state directly was my work clothes. So I decided to invest heavily in a uniform. I was inspired by the oriental martial arts atire style and ordered a Neru of 500 bucks from the best tailoring in my city. I also combined it with an incredible necklace to get that extra boost in confidence.It was a lot of Money for me at the time, but In the end, it was worth every penny. While the uniform was being prepared, I have to admit that I almost gave up on my goal several times, but the financial commitment held me back. Now there was no turning back. It was like being tied to the goal, in a good way. And wow, it was worth it!The first day I wore my clothes, I felt like a wizard. The customers praised it, and I had the slight impression that they came to admire me more and respect my work more. Now i see my self more like an authority. And with this mindset, I believe that getting more customers is nothing but the next logical step!This book changes lives. As Ben speaks, change takes place through new contexts and new information. The mindset transformation this book provides is absurd, and it's the complete package you need to make a radical change in your life.

Being an avid reader of personal development books, this was brought to my attention and I am so glad it was. This book is amazing. If you struggle to stick to routines or never keep at anything. If you find yourself always failing at any task then you NEED to read this book. The author has written it in such an easy to understand and implement fashion that you can instantly know what you need to change. This book isn't full of stories of others as examples or anecdotal waffle. This is just useful, interesting and noteworthy information from the start. Highly recommended.

This book is one of the most life-changing books I've ever read. I love the hard science around how imagining a great future for yourself can help to bring those visions into reality. Truly life-changing, and given the work I do, it's also helped me to help others from being stuck in past stories - because great marketing talks to what you want more of, and who you most want to serve.

I've followed the work of Benjamin for a while, but this book is by far Ben at his best. Loved the concept, something new and refreshing that made me rethink a lot of things in my environment that were (even though I didn't notice it) preventing me of performing at my best. Listened to the audiobook 2 times, and will read it as soon as my copy of the physical book arrives :) If you are into self-help, this one is a must!

Der Titel ist so nicht ganz richtig! Selbstbeherrschung kann funktionieren, nur nicht auf Dauer und auf lange Sicht. Wie durch mehrere wissenschaftliche Studien schon bewiesen wurde ist Selbstbeherrschung wie ein Muskel: wenn man sie verwendet, dann wird sie über den Tag schwächer. Was auch der Grund dafür ist, warum man sich am Abend am ehesten nicht an seine Diät hält oder auch viele Affären am Arbeitsplatz nach einem langen und anstrengenden Arbeitstag anfangen. Der Autor argumentiert, dass wenn man seine Umgebung so gestaltet, dass man gar nicht erst in die Versuchung kommen kann diese Selbstbeherrschung ausüben zu müssen, die Chancen auf Erfolg enorm steigen. Das kann sowas sein wie, kein ungesundes Essen zu Hause zu haben damit man sich an seine Diät hält oder das Handy einfach mal zu Hause zu lassen damit man währen der Zeit die man mit Freunden und Familie verbringt voll anwesend ist.Das Buch ist eine gute Lektüre für jeden der Erfolg haben will und die ganze „Last“ der Leistung nicht nur auf sich selber projezieren will sondern einen Teil davon auch an die Gestaltung seiner Umgebung outsourcen will.