What is meant by will power? Whilst the brain and body are not always highly active and alert, the spirit should remain alert through will power. In other words that aspect of you which observes what’s going on inwardly should always remain attentive, even if everything else is resting. Some might call this the spirit, or the minds eye. But none of this means you should be concentrating on something so intensely that you exhaust yourself and then need to switch off. On the contrary, remaining vigilant and alert about your thoughts and channelling them in a productive direction should energise you and save you from losing direction and motivation1. Because the mind simply wonders if left to its own devices, usually into negativity.
What does will power do? It directs and cultivates ideas principally. And these ideas are based on eternal principles, or archetypes, which we develop through thought. We later fashion such ideas into outcomes, such as behaviours, strategies, or physical objects depending on their direction. Think of will power as the directing force of currents, just as a river bed channels water. Because usually we don’t actually create ideas, we just inject a bit of ourselves into existing ones. If they were ours we would hold on to them as we do an arm or leg, but often ideas fail us and become unusable without the right mental approach. This is where will power is vitally important. Think of ideas as your children if you like, and tend to them and bring them up as best you can with all your energy. Because they will enrich your life if you take responsibility for developing them.
Think of will power as the first port of call which sets everything in motion. In other words, the change is immediate as soon as you think a positive inspiring thought, it just hasn’t materialised yet into a product or an outcome. It needs time. This is why it is important to always insist on thinking positive, inspiring, and motivating thoughts. Many people say “I just can’t resist this or that” or “I can’t get motivated”. But these initial negative thoughts, which occur in the absence of effort1, have the power to create the reality which we fear. Similarly, will power can define who you are once you recognise that thought is the foundation of action, the source of manifestation. The actual outcome of thought is unimportant and often obstructs progress, because the goal is the impetus, the great and driving force. This process is what we should relate to rather than outcomes.
In the exercise of will power change wont be visible outwardly immediately. Will power is useful for sowing the seeds of progress. And as I was saying, the effects are only immediately visible on the level of the mind, and it is this level you should relate to rather than what’s immediately in front of you. The fruits don’t come until later, which is why so many people give up easily. For example, say you wake up one morning and decide you can’t be bothered to train, telling yourself that you are no good anyway so what’s the point. Soon enough, without any will power directing thoughts in the opposite direction you have given in to this negative idea which started off as a passing thought. “Thoughts are things” and they must be nourished moment by moment, so other bad things don’t take their place.
Whilst physical training gives us a degree of confidence by creating a history of success, as well as good habits and routines, it’s not enough on its own. Without an ideal to strive for, a motivational force, even the most thrilling training yields little in the way of long term success. So it is in the mind that any physical achievement originates, by relating ourselves to our high ideal or grand goal. The physical outcome of these mental creations symbolise these ideas, and give them form. By adding something of ourselves into them physically, or altering our behaviour through the inspiration of such ideas, we give them physical expression. But it all begins in the mind. It is up to us to revisit ideas and thoughts constantly to nourish them and blend them with other great ideas so that evolution can continue.
Even the greatest champions have convinced themselves at one point or another that they were no good and were going nowhere. They let negativity take over because there was no counterbalancing influence to this natural retrogressive tendency. Either they got into drugs, became egotistical, self indulgent, or whatever.
Any negative state of mind is liable to take over quite naturally without will power setting in motion a counter offensive of positive ideas and productive thoughts. Think of it as a war going on inside of you, good versus evil. If you hate the idea of war, consider it a form of delivering justice against injustice. In fact this is why Martial arts have insisted on virtue and responsibility, so that inwardly you side with the good, that is the productive and sustainable, avoiding demoralization. The idea isn’t just to bow in front of the master and then be done with it, showing no respect for others as you go out into the world. The Positive outcomes appear later as a result of relating to certain principles. So don’t go rushing this process or looking for a quick fix.
Many people think “If I just had the right training” or “If I just had enough money” that things would be easy. In fact the opposite is true because then there would be no need for will power to assert itself against such easy conditions and senescence would set in. Instead, see your disadvantages and adversity as a gift, or what scientists call “selection pressure” to adapt. In other words, a reason for will power to assert itself and propel your upwards. There is no other logical way of looking at it, there must always be an equal and opposite force.
The thing about will power is that it needs to be directed actively, whereas doubt and negativity are passive states. Such states are the absence of will power rather than a bad state in itself. Nobody holds on to an inspiring idea or makes a work of art without the will to do so. This is why it’s so important, it’s a fundamental prerequisite for an outcome. In other words, the outcome doesn’t come before the work, anymore than the flower comes before the seed.
We all start off weak and ignorant, and it requires monumental will power and work just to maintain what little we have achieved. Because we are free to will thoughts in a direction of our choosing this means we can adapt the form of our ideas to suit our circumstances and tastes. We can become whatever we like. It also means that we are free to become lazy and lose our edge, making way for the next generation of artists, creators, and leaders.
Through will power alone we can stop this natural tendency to decline and therefore we must never rest on our laurels. Ideas are flexible and adaptable, which reflects our changing and evolving circumstances and needs. This also explains why we must ceaselessly act in order to develop our thoughts and capabilities.
If we want to develop our thoughts into abilities later on, we need to put in the work first. Insofar as a spirited energy dwells in us it must be nourished. This means we need to be alert and vigilant in order to sow the seeds that may take years and years to become giant creations. This is the first step of any great endeavour and we should identify with this perspective rather than the narrow view of material circumstance. It isn’t enough to realise that action needs to be taken at the eleventh hour, so we must be forward thinking and ready to see the slightest change in the landscape which calls for new creations in the future.
References
1 https://harmanater.com/2020/04/27/active-relaxation/
2 https://harmanater.com/2020/05/04/the-higher-and-lower-self-in-martial-arts/