Tapsearch Com EditorCan Will Power be trained
Link: www.therationale.com
Continuing our discussion about improving personality and character, we explore the concept of Will Power and if it can be trained. There is a notion that some people are just born with a strong will and others with a weak will. On the other hand, many consider weakness of will a matter of choice and they will scold others for this weakness. Someone who breaks the law will plead a weak will in self justificaton. The overbearing types will plead a strong will.
One school of thought says the will is a muscle, which by constant exercise can grow stronger. For example, you can sit quietly for ten consecutive minutes and practiced being in a contended state of mind. According to the "muscle" theory this is supposed to make the will stronger. Others wonder about the very idea of "strength" being applied to the will itself.
Those who have enter the world of contemplation, know it can be a very difficult thing to control the will in a quiet wait.
We also have example of very brave men who are afraid to go to the dentist and soldiers who can discipline themselves for heroic action but can't resist the girls or drink on a furlough. A person can train his will to run a complete marathon but then fails to control an appetite for food.
Apparently, the will is as strong as the motives are. We eventually do what personal experiences tell us what we like in terms of priorities in life. Once we grant the will the power of our motivations, we can open up many ways to improve our personality and character. No one acts in a difficult situation without a reason to do it. We find the "muscle" of the will in our motivations. A strong will is one that has sufficient reason for doing what is right. So in the end we return to the intellect which provides us with motivations. The intellect has to be trained to be on alert- the motivation for the best choice in any matter must be present to the mind when needed. It is important to cultivate intellectual habits of keeping motivations actively in the mind and ready when needed. The habit of acting on motives will provide the strength the will needs to make the choices related to the ideal life. The Christian seeks out Christian ideals for inspired motives. The non-Christian needs to find their route to this inspiration too in their search for the life ideal.
Source includes notes from Father McQuade SJ JCU course
