Willpower Doesn't Work

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.

My name is Celimar Sanchez Rivera and to understand how my life has changed since reading Willpower doesn’t work, you need to know where I came from. I have been with my husband for 11 years. We are high school sweethearts and have 4 children together. We both were born and raised in Newark NJ which is equivalent to the COMPTON, California of New Jersey. We had/have big dreams but our environment kept us stuck. I was a stay at home mom. My husband worked security. We could hear gun shots from our living room. On March 20th our 4.5 month old baby died in her sleep during nap time from SIDS. I fell into this deep pit of depression, fear, anxiety and worry. We still had 3 children who needed and deserved the best of us and life had just completely aired us out. I have always been obese. I made excuses and weighed over 200 lbs. I ate my emotions and had NO SELF CONTROL. But I was so desperate for change and for a miracle. I fully understand that I am my children’s first role model and example.... THAT MATTERS TO ME SO MUCH!!!! When I started reading Willpower Doesn’t Work I realized that I was programmed to win but my environment was designed for me to lose. I made a decision that Enough was enough. I was done making excuses. I had enough self loathing and I was ready to apply everything that I read in this book. That changed everything for me!!!! I knew I needed to design my environment for success. I emptied my cupboards and pantry. I stopped eating processed foods. I made exercise a part of my daily rituals. I included my loved ones in my goals and the ripple effect has been phenomenal. I’ve lost over 40 lbs. My confidence and belief has skyrocketed. AND EVERYONE AROUND ME HAS NOTICED THE SHIFT. The other night my son and daughter asked me to teach them how to be strong like HULK SMASH... so I took to my favorite place where I flip 200-600 pound tires. There I was, squatting down .. directly in front of me a 250lbs tire... But more importantly to the right of me my daughter and son, you lift with your legs. They both mirror my form, "like this Mami" they yell back, I reply yes now let's do this on the count of 3..my hands grip the tire like a set of vice grips 2.. the momma bear in me is fired up ... 1 lift lift lift .. We make light work of the massive tire and that's when I notice my oldest lift her leg and kickn the tire as it passes the point of no return ... We.did it mom!!!And I know I just instilled in her invincibility.. that she can do any thing .. .. and this is how your book inspired me and became generational change Because the old over weight victim person I was would have never gone to this extreme for my children. The other amazing thing that stuck with me from the book is the importance of rest. I feel like we live in a society that thrives on busy. The more busy you are, the more successful? Correct? Incorrect! I learned that I need solitude and silence to recharge. I use my body as a compass and take rest days when necessary. I stopped looking for quick fixes and over night success. And found that in those quiet moments my mind goes to new places and I am able to do and create so much more. I became so laser focused on who I WANTED to be and the principles in this book took my dreams and made it reality. I journal daily. I don’t suffer from depression anymore. My anxiety is gone. And I launched a business called Enough with my best friend. It’s an endorphin rich hiit style bootcamp made for women by women. It sold out in less than 48 hours when we launched and it has been so powerful knowing that this all started because I became focused on who I wanted to be and made my environment serve that purpose fully. During the workouts I yell affirmations that my VIPs repeat.... LIKE I AM POWERFUL, I AM ENOUGH, I AM HEALING FROM THE INSIDE OUT, I AM A FINISHER, I FINISH WHAT I START. This book changed my life, my perspective and my family’s life forever. If I listed all the changes we would be here forever but most importantly my children have a mom who turned her pain into power, her mess into her message and her problems into profit. This review is part of a competition

Strong message in the book. I was able to apply the suggestions immediately.

The author is a researcher but couldn't take the time to actually cite his sources properly, even for the specific studies he references. If you've already read Carol Dweck, Tim Ferris, Jocko Willink, NLP books, etc then this book will be a complete waste of time.I understand there is an attempt to provide practical steps, and the short length of the book is obviously targeted to people who don't like to read. So perhaps it would be helpful to a high schooler?

This book will help you to make even look for changes in your environment in order to become the person you want to be!

人間の決定は自由意志か環境かという説について、長々論じます。結局、環境も大きいから、環境を変える方に努力をすれば良い、つまり、ポテトチップスを買って家に置いておいてそれを食べないことに意志の力を使って疲れるより、ポテトチップスを家からなくしなさいと説く。アメリカっぽいのは、そうやって食べたくないジャンクフードを始末するに辺り、ホームレス支援に寄付すれば良いと書いてある辺り。ついでに「片付けの魔法」を読んで（あれ、国際的なベストセラーらしい）、何でも片付けてしまいなさいとも書いてある。著者はある時、5歳と7歳と10歳だかの子ども3人を引き取った。相当悪い環境にいたようで、5歳の子が10までの数が数えられない、7歳が字が読めないような状態。10年ぐらい経って、今はすっかり落ち着き、知的障害もなく健康な人間に育っている、つまり、環境が悪かった。そして、そのままその環境に置いておいたら、どうなったかは想像したくない。意志の力の使い方を説く本が多いのに気づき、そこで頑張らないで、自然に努力できる環境を作り上げようということを言っている本。

A fantastic book. Concepts that are practical and inspiring. Life changing. If you are willing to experience a 10x change on your life, achieve more and live happier Willpower Doesn’t Work is a must reading book for you.Hope you enjoy it as I did!

Sensacional!

I have to admit that I didn't finish this book, the reason is that I find the author not creditable for me.1. The author claimed that he published his first research paper within one week, and another more than 10 papers within 6 months period, I wonder what’s the qualities of those “research papers”. I am used to mathematical or natural science research papers which may takes at least months or even years work before publication, I wonder maybe psychology is a completely different “science branch” that you can publish a “research paper” per month: but I believe before the publication you should still: have an idea, design experiment, collect data from experiments, have your first conclusion, have peer review, and improve your experiments … all finished in one month ? come on…2. There is hardly any fact in the book, the author wrote this book as a philosopher, he said what he thought, talked about what he felt, but hardly any facts to support his idea or conclusion. He usually said that: “many researches prove that: xxx”, but in most cases the authors would not mention what those researches were, or even bother to include an references to those research papers. I can hardly believe that's the way someone who received modern science training should do. Or may be he want to make it simple for his reader, but definitely he didn't think his reader has critical mind, who may want to do their own judgment.