When was the last time you told yourself you don’t have willpower? Did you eat something you wish you hadn’t? Skip a gym session? Overspend on retail therapy? Say “yes” to something when you really wanted to say “no?”

Willpower is often described as the ability to resist short-term temptations to achieve long-term goals. Whether you’re aiming to stick to a healthy diet, maintain a regular exercise routine, or achieve success in your career, having strong willpower can be the difference between success and failure. 

The good news is willpower is not a fixed trait, but rather a skill that can be cultivated and strengthened over time. 

Here are three effective ways to boost your willpower:

1. Set clear goals and prioritize:

Does winning make us well? I asked myself this question after hearing mental health expert Dr. John Delony share, “Winning doesn’t make you well,” at a recent leadership conference. This struck me, as one of my personal core values is,“I Am a Competitor.” Being a former athlete and coach, I wrestled with this statement, as I love to compete and enjoy the reward of winning. But the question of “Does winning make you well?” still lingered. 

It took me back to a time in my life, when on the outside, I had what others would say was a successful career, producing a six-figure income with an “executive” title attached to me. However, while it wasn’t visible to those on the outside, the most important relationships in my life

Have you ever wondered why you didn’t fully pursue your dreams and goals? Or maybe, like me, you rationalized that your dream didn’t require you to develop a certain skill? Maybe you even justified that you simply weren’t wired or gifted correctly to achieve this dream?   

I would like to share with you something about myself that I learned just over the past two weeks regarding fear. My discovery reinforced Reaching Higher’s claim that fear is the No. 1 thing which holds us back from reaching our dreams and potential.  

Last week I was listening to a podcast with bestselling author Frank Viola. Viola also coaches aspiring authors. As mentioned in my Mission Monday video, Viola believes that the infamous “writer’s block” is really a fear b