(Notes from FB live Aug 28 2018 ~ Click to Watch)

When I first heard Dr Glenn Livingston first talk about how Character trumps Willpower it filled me with hope and determination. One of my core issues in feeling inadequate and incompetent and I have struggled so much trying to boost my self esteem only to knock it down by being inconsistent or not meeting my own expectations. Glenn talks about how willpower is more like gas in my tank that I need to refuel. Every time I am faced with a decision, a little bit of gas gets burned. I only have so much gas in one day!

He gives the example of … Imagine you are in a restaurant and the waitress sits you down at a table. There is a $10 tip on the table. No one would see you take the tip. Most people told him they wouldn’t and when he asked why they replied because they are not a thief! That’s character vs willpower in action. Think of a situation where it is a no brainer that you wouldn’t do something. Break into a store and steal stuff? Vandalize property? Rob a bank? You have decided at some point in your life that you are not that kind of person and you don’t have to expend any of your willpower gas to resist it! The decision has been made for you.

What this piece of information has done for me is helped me shift my focus to what type of person I want to be rather than what type of person I wish I was. And I love how he makes it so simple on how to do exactly that.

He talks about rules vs guidelines. Example is he made a rule that he would never eat chocolate during the week vs a guideline that he only eats chocolate 10% of the time. So if he is standing at Starbucks looking at a chocolate cookie, and it’s Wednesday, there is no decision to be made because it’s during the week. If he had a guideline he would be faced with the decision “is this part of the 10%?” I immediately felt better about myself and it has been sustained. I now have a practical tool that fills my esteem and facilitates change to habits and behaviours. I am loving my new life.

#ptsd #selfesteem #claimingwellness #character #willpower #change #hope #neverbingeagain #fit2fat2fit #selfgrowth