What is Willpower Anyway??

I have a lot of friends who are entrepreneurs. (Probably because I am also an entrepreneur and we tend to stick together.) There’s an added pressure when you work for yourself to perform at a high level, because your business is a reflection of you.

There’s a pervasive message in the entrepreneurial world about “making things happen” – and that ability to make things happen seems to be directly tied to how hard you work and how much you’re able to overcome.

I've seen so many people equate this ability to “make things happen” directly with willpower – with the ability to exert enough self-control to overcome bad habits and ultimately achieve the success you want.

I read that and immediately got tense, because I know from Human Design that the majority of people are NOT designed to make things happen solely based on willpower!

I think this is a terrible message that we receive in our society – that if we aren’t achieving what we want, then we must have a weak will. It perpetuates so much guilt and shame.

In Human Design, willpower lives in (you guessed it!) the Will center. This center is where we live out our sense of value. When this center is defined (colored in) it has a consistent source of willpower – it actually can “just do it”. When the Will center is undefined (white/not colored in) it does not have a consistent source of willpower.

Here’s the rub: only 1/8 of the population have this center defined! That means that 7/8 (a huge majority) of the population does NOT have a consistent source of willpower!! And yet, we are told we should be able to just push through anything and “make it happen”. This is an incredibly unfair expectation for most of us.

If you have an undefined Will center, you may also tend to struggle with knowing your worth and/or trying to prove your value to others. Think about this – you don’t have the willpower to just push through and “make it happen” and yet you are compelled to prove yourself! It’s a recipe for shame, failure and burnout.

So first of all, if you’ve been trying to achieve goals by willpower alone and “failing”, please please have some compassion for yourself! Know that you are not actually “failing” because you are not doing anything wrong! It’s just that you (like most other people) are not designed to operate that way! It also doesn't mean that you can't or won't be successful. You have other sources of energy and flow. You just need to know how to use your precious energy correctly.

Second, here’s what’s beautiful about the open Will center: it is designed to be inherently wise about what is truly valuable. By understanding so many different experiences of value, the open Will can live out and model what true self-worth looks like, AND what is truly valuable in life.

We are living in a time when we are collectively redefining value in our society.

Many of us (including / especially those who are considered traditionally "successful" – aka wealthy) are realizing that material wealth and possessions do not equal happiness or fulfillment. This is a huge reason I left my “traditional” job and decided to work for myself. To me, having time with my children and my family and doing work that made my Soul come alive was more valuable than the “steady” and accepted representation of value that my job provided.

As an entrepreneur, I have also been on a journey of knowing and claiming my own value. (I know this is a journey many of my fellow entrepreneurs are on as well!) How do we ask for what we deserve, stand in our wisdom, and simultaneously walk the line of owning our worth without coming off as “egotistical” or “inflated”?

Whether we are designed with a consistent source of willpower or not, the key is to know your worth, and that worth is NOT tied to how hard or how much you work.

When we know and understand our unique energy patterns, and the way our creativity and powers of manifestation are designed to flow, we can work with them gracefully – whether we have willpower or not! While many people dream of having the will to “just do” things, it is not necessary for you to live out your purpose or create the life you dream of. And trying to push with willpower you don’t have will only lead you to exhaustion and burnout!

So today, I hope you remember that you are innately, inherently valuable just because you exist. You came here to do big things. You have everything you need to do them. Honor your gifts. Honor your precious energy. Let go of the pressure and keep doing the next right thing. You got this. I’m right there with you.

Big love,
Betsy

P.S. If you would like some support in understanding your unique energy blueprint and how you are designed to work in the world, please reach out! Reconnecting to your authentic self and understanding the tools that can help you live with more grace and ease is such a gift. I love helping people re-discover their Design!