Let’s blow your socks off because reading the following research DEFINITELY blew mine. ⬇️

We all hear the word willpower and usually let it fall through the cracks of our awareness.

It has become a buzzword that just kinda goes in one ear and out the other.

Listen up here, this info about willpower is about to blow your mind (at least I hope it does… Maybe I’m just a nerd, which is extremely possible).

Alright, there was a study in 1972 where the willpower of 600 preschoolers was tested. It was called the “Marshmallow Study”.

These 600 preschoolers were to wait in a room for 15 minutes one at a time, with a single marshmallow on a plate.

They were told that if they lasted the 15 minutes without eating the marshmallow that they would get TWO marshmallows at the end (Sounds like the jackpot of all preschooler jackpots).

Some of these kids deployed STRATEGIES to make sure they wouldn’t eat the marshmallow, like playing with it or even petting it (It it were me, I probably would’ve named it and felt bad about eating my friend. 😂)

Turns out 200 kids were able to wait the full 15 minutes without eating the damned sugar pillow. Other children also lasted <15 minutes, but not the full amount.

So here is where it gets interesting: They followed these kiddos for 30 years, and found that the kids who had higher willpower scores (waited the 15 minutes), had totally outperformed the other children in LIFE.

Better grades.

Higher SAT scores.

Higher education.

Better jobs.

Higher pay.

More money for retirement.

Fewer criminal records.

More successful relationships.

Better friends.

I mean…. talk about a secret power that no one talks about enough: Willpower!

These kids showed that their ability to use strategies to put off HOT emotions that come with waiting for what they want, mean they are able to cope with the hardships that come with aiming for more in life.

“How in the hell does this help me Molly?” you might ask.

Well, if you can control the way you think and where you put your attention, then your amazing lovely self can literally withstand anything and thus DO anything!

So I will use myself as an example.

In my last letter I wrote about how I quit my spiritual business idea in 2019.

A HUGE part of me quitting was a lack of willpower.

At the time, I had such a naive idea of what hard work is.

Delayed gratification was a far reach for me.

I just wanted success NOW and wasn’t willing to put in the hard work and years of growing a brand.

But after building my willpower over the last 4 years, I have returned to the drawing board with the awareness and skillset to deal with HOT emotions that I didn’t have before!

(HOT emotions are the sitting on coals-anxiety-don’t want to wait feelings you get whenever you aren’t getting what you want in the moment.)

The point is, this shit can change. Your willpower is a skill.

If you are someone who previously couldn’t tolerate being at the gym everyday but you want a nice body, well, you can build the skills that help you get to the gym every day!

If you have thought about going back to school, you can build your willpower to help you go back to school and finish that shit!

Honestly, I know many of us weren’t born with spoons in our mouths or had great childhoods, but this is a skill you can build NOW no matter where or who you are.

HOW?

(Ok… Another cliche response but I am going to explain it for you because it finally made sense as to why I developed greater willpower in the last 4 years.)

Meditation is PROVEN through imaging and multiple studies (NOT woo-woo) and also is backed by ancient practices to strengthen the area of your brain that is in charge of willpower (which is different from the well developed area of your brain that experiences gratification).

This area is called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

This is literally the definition of inner strength.

Your brain, on meditation, is made stronger and able to say yes to things that are hard to do but have big payoffs.

So I honestly DO NOT believe it is a coincidence that in those same 4 years where I worked on meditation and strengthening my thought control, that I also developed willpower muscles.

Meditation helps your brain learn new tricks to deal with those HOT emotions and thoughts that make you crack to immediate gratification.

You learn how to effectively push these thoughts that sabotage you away. And you understand how to trouble shoot and mend your emotions on the spot.

That sounds like a sweet deal to me— Who needs a casino to hit the jackpot anymore??

It made me feel excited to know that everyone can develop this skill ad transcend obstacles.

Meditation is free ya’ll!

SOOOO, where are you in relationship to your willpower super power? Do you feel like you’ve got a good handle on it?

Let’s continue to work on it together my friends. ❤️

I’ll catch you on the heavily-meditated side. 🙂