Willpower

Today’s been a good day. I started with my morning scripture study, knocked out the tasks I needed to handle, and then gave myself a little time to unwind with some YouTube. I went for a walk around the city—I'm here on a layover for work—and I even got in a solid gym session.

Overall, it’s felt like a really disciplined day. But if I’m honest, I’m worried it might all fall apart later. That’s been the pattern in the past: I start strong—doing the things I know I should—but by afternoon or evening, things unravel. I slip into doom scrolling on Instagram, eat garbage food, or stay up too late binging TV. I think what causes that is a kind of imbalance. I burn up all my willpower early in the day and don’t have much left to carry me through the rest of it.

So the real question is—how do I avoid the crash?

The good news is that I’m aware of it now, and that awareness gives me a chance to do things differently. I’m realizing that the key isn’t trying to keep up a perfect, iron-clad discipline all day long—that’s not sustainable. Instead, I need to expect that my willpower will fade and build in space to relax without letting go completely.

That means allowing myself some screen time or a little indulgence, but using just enough willpower to stop after a reasonable amount. Not everything needs to be an all-or-nothing situation.

There was a quote at the hotel gym that said, “Be Stronger Than Your Excuses.” I’ve always liked sayings like that—but lately I’m wondering if they’ve done more harm than good. Pushing hard and flexing willpower has its place, sure. But you can’t summon strength just because you want to. Like physical muscle, mental strength takes training and time. If you expect your willpower to be endless and blame yourself when it runs out, you risk discouragement—and that’s what leads to giving up entirely. I’ve been there.

What’s helped me is accepting that I’m human and learning how my brain works. I’ve stopped trying to fight my brain and started trying to work with it. When I try to outmuscle it, I usually lose. But when I understand what it needs—balance, rest, flexibility—I tend to stay more in control and get better results.