DailyInspire.ch 2025

 

 

"Winners do what losers don’t want to do." — Vince Lombardi

 

 

#2 Willpower DailyInspire

 

A very, very warm welcome to you this morning, with bows down to the ground!

Today, according to my weekly schedule, it's another health day. The HMF method includes mental and physical health as well as challenges related to both.
Here’s a short reminder of my weekly schedule at the short-term goal stage: “I weigh 94 kg or less by 01.04.2025.”

Wochenplan für die Gesundheitsziele
Montag	Gesundheit (Fokus auf körperliches und geistiges Wohlbefinden)
Dienstag	Reflexionstag (Selbstreflexion, Flexibilität, Meditation, optionale Aufgaben)
Mittwoch	Motivation (Ziele setzen, persönliche Entwicklung, innerer Antrieb)
Donnerstag	Fundament (Finanzen, Karriere, Beziehungen, langfristige Planung)
Freitag	Gesundheit (Stärkung physischer/mentaler Praktiken)
Samstag	Gesundheit (Konstanter Einsatz für die Gesundheit)
Sonntag	Wochenreview (Bewertung, Überprüfung der Roten Karte, Anpassungen, Erholung)

 

 

Mental health and its well-being are just as important as physical health – something only a small portion of our population realizes. Physical health is visible… physically. The mind – even when unwell – can be carefully hidden. Its deterioration and later recovery are often more challenging than fixing our bodies.

I just wanted to mention this topic so it’s not forgotten.

Remember – take care of your inner self and nurture it. Take care of your spirit just as much, or even more, than your body. Train it.

And now, with this pirouette-like transition, as a 100-kilogram ballerina in tight leggings, I move on to today’s topic:

Willpower as a Muscle – A Scientific Approach

 

Imagine that your willpower is a muscle. You can strengthen it. You can overstrain it. You can also neglect it and let it become weak, like the biceps of someone who has spent their whole life lifting only a fork to their mouth. 😊

Does that sound like a cliché? Maybe. But these are facts, not motivational nonsense.

Willpower Gets Tired – Psychological Experiments

 

Baumeister and Tice (1998) conducted a study that went down in psychology history as proof that willpower is like a muscle – it has a limited capacity and gets depleted throughout the day.

The experiment was simple:

1. Group 1: People were placed in a room with two plates – one with chocolate cookies, the other with raw radishes. Their task? Eat only radishes and resist the cookies.
2. Group 2: They could eat whatever they wanted – no internal struggle.
3. Afterwards, everyone was asked to solve a complicated puzzle (in reality, unsolvable).

And what happened?

The people who had to resist the cookies gave up on the puzzle much faster. Why? Because their "willpower muscle" was already tired.

So wasting willpower on trivial decisions has a real impact on how we handle challenges. Let’s not waste it on nonsense!

In my HMF method, I have a short-term goal related to weight loss, which means most of my willpower reserves are directed toward that – exercise and diet. That’s enough for now.

Don’t overdo it! If you set a short-term goal like, for example, waking up early (I accidentally introduced it, and whether I like it or not, I wake up before 5 AM every day – quite a nice free habit 😊), then let your willpower muscle work on that one thing for a while. Keep going until it becomes a habit – then it will happen on its own.

Focus on one thing at a time.

Training Willpower – How to Strengthen the "Muscle"

 

Since willpower works like a muscle, that means… you can train it. And how? Just like in the gym.

1. Small weights, regular reps
   – Don’t jump into huge changes. If you want to cut down on sugar, start by reducing the amount instead of suddenly adopting a monk’s diet.
   – If you want to wake up earlier, don’t aim for 5:00 AM immediately – try waking up 15 minutes earlier first.
2. Recovery
   – Don’t expect endless self-discipline. Your brain needs rest. A rested mind = stronger willpower.
3. Automation through habits
   – Willpower is a limited resource, but habits are not. Once something becomes a routine, you don’t have to think about it.
   – Example? Brushing your teeth. You don’t use willpower for that because it’s automatic – a habit. The same can be true for exercise, diet, learning.

Links to my habit-related blogs:

 

EN: https://dailyinspire.ch/en/blogs/habits-1/
DE: https://dailyinspire.ch/Blog/Gewohnheiten-1/

EN: https://dailyinspire.ch/en/blogs/habits-recognize-success#wbb2
DE: https://dailyinspire.ch/Blog/gewohnheiten-erkenne-erfolge#wbb1

EN: https://dailyinspire.ch/en/blogs/small-habits-big-success-1
DE: https://dailyinspire.ch/Blog/kleine-gewohnheiten-grosser-erfolg-1

EN: https://dailyinspire.ch/en/blogs/habits-motivation-action/
DE: https://dailyinspire.ch/Blog/gewohnheiten-motivation-handeln/

EN: https://dailyinspire.ch/en/blogs/habits-2
DE: https://dailyinspire.ch/Blog/gewohnheiten-2

 

Habits are a great tool for training willpower. You could even call them willpower steroids. 😊 And in this case, they’re completely legal and approved!

Does Willpower Always Work?

No. And That’s a Good Thing.

 

Willpower is just one tool. The most successful people don’t rely on it all the time. They build systems that allow them not to waste energy on every decision.

Steve Jobs wore the same clothes every day – a black turtleneck, jeans, and sneakers. Not because he was boring. But because he wanted to save his willpower for more important things than choosing a shirt.

You can be smarter about it too (like a clever little fox 🦊):
• If you don’t want to eat sweets, don’t keep them at home.
• If you want to work out in the morning, put your workout clothes next to your bed.
• If you want to scroll your phone less, keep it in another room.

Conclusions - Willpower & DailyInspire

 

"Willpower is like a gym – the more you train, the stronger it gets. But if you overstrain it – you’ll collapse like a fly. If you don’t let it rest, it will weaken."

 

PS. That’s why today I’m only doing my morning workout. I need to give my abs and dumbbell lifting a break – my body clearly needs a day to recover. I’ll give it one.

Observe both your body and your willpower. Don’t overdo it. You’re not a robot, and don’t go to extremes. You need to push hard, but everything has its limits. Simple.

Yesterday wasn’t kind to me – I got a tough workout at work, a few unpleasant pieces of news, and, unfortunately, they were consequences of my mistakes. I take full responsibility and learn from them.

I won’t give up. I’m getting on my bike and pushing forward. Breaking down is for average and weak people. We want to be the best!

Tomorrow’s blog: “Aim as high as possible. Take EVERYTHING!”

Today's Motto:

The willpower muscle doesn’t grow from perfection. It grows from consistency.

 

Be consistent in pursuing your goals. The best time to start is now – with the HMF method and the 1% better rule.

 

Links to related blogs:

EN: https://dailyinspire.ch/en/blogs/willpower-system
DE: https://dailyinspire.ch/Blog/willenskraft-system

EN: https://dailyinspire.ch/en/blogs/habits-recognize-success#wbb2
DE: https://dailyinspire.ch/Blog/gewohnheiten-erkenne-erfolge#wbb1

EN: https://dailyinspire.ch/en/blogs/small-habits-big-success-1
DE: https://dailyinspire.ch/Blog/kleine-gewohnheiten-grosser-erfolg-1

EN: https://dailyinspire.ch/en/blogs/habits-motivation-action/
DE: https://dailyinspire.ch/Blog/gewohnheiten-motivation-handeln/

EN: https://dailyinspire.ch/en/blogs/measurability-in-motivation/
DE: https://dailyinspire.ch/Blog/Messbarkeit-in-der-Motivation/