The Willpower Paradox

I've felt this when starting on challenging programming tasks. "I WILL DO THIS" usually ends up with procrastination, or no real solutions coming to mind. Gently nudging my mind into wondering about the problem, poking it, thinking of ways to do it, thinking of ways to get out of doing it, then finally a tipping point is reached and I hold on for the motivational ride. It helps when you work for a company tolerant of this creative cycle, where motivation for a particular problem or project may come from nowhere.

Original research paper: "Motivating Goal-Directed Behavior through Introspective Self-Talk: The Role of the Interrogative Form of Simple Future Tense"

http://www.psych.illinois.edu/~dalbarra/pubs/Wll%20I%20I%20w...

Willfulness is the determination to implement my will, while willingness is the faith to base my actions on possibility.

As I've taken definite steps towards entrepreneurship, I've been having an emotional experience that feels like falling. Falling requires faith, but it is much better than standing. When I'm on the ground I know what I've got, and known outcomes are not compelling, but when I'm falling I don't know what might be, and the sense of discovery keeps pulling me forward.

How do I apply this in my life? I want to get into shape... doesn't that already put me into the "I will" mode? How do I switch into the "Will I" mode?

That is a cool article.

Simplistic. Often in the real world both I will and will I are found together at different parts of the activity.