{"id":1980,"date":"2011-02-16T10:25:01","date_gmt":"2011-02-16T17:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/?p=1980"},"modified":"2025-11-02T21:16:41","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T04:16:41","slug":"want-vs-will","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/?p=1980","title":{"rendered":"Want vs Will"},"content":{"rendered":"

I realize I’m ruled by my wants.\u00a0 Now this isn’t necessarily a BAD thing.\u00a0 Wanting something often will drive a person to work for it, to put forth effort.\u00a0 In a way, wanting can create Will.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

But like any good thing it can also become a bad habit.\u00a0 My body\/brain often expresses its whining desires.\u00a0 I’m sure you’re all familiar with this litany:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I want a sweet.\u00a0 I want to stop, I am tired. I don’t want to do work.\u00a0 I don’t want to get out of bed.\u00a0 I want to escape into t.v.\/reading\/social networking.\u00a0 I want that outfit\/pair of shoes\/etc.\u00a0 I want to DO something.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Today it occurred to me that indulging this want\/want\/want person was getting out of hand.\u00a0 So I’ve decided for every other “Want” my body\/brain comes up with I’m going to substitute a “Will”.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

So when it whimpers, “I want to stop!<\/em>” when I’m exercising I’m going to tell myself, “I WILL do 5 more minutes” or “5 more reps”.\u00a0 Whichever applies.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When it sighs, “I don’t want to work, I want to vegg<\/em>” I’m going to drag out some work and force myself to get into it.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve gained too many pounds this winter and put off way too many things in my life.\u00a0 It’s time I take a little more control over my Want\/Will and stop\u00a0 letting my <\/strong><\/span>internal <\/strong>self-indulgence rule me.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

And being aware WILL turn this around. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Before you cheer or sneer, I’m not going to go cold turkey off self-indulgence.\u00a0 I know better.\u00a0 Baby steps\u00a0 into permanent habits is what works for me.\u00a0 Always has and always will.\u00a0 Especially when its a pleasure I’m trying to control.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Like sugar.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

And t.v. watching or social networking.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Don’t even get me started on Sex!\u00a0 Lucky for me I’m actually less self-indulgent in that area as people think.\u00a0 Besides I’m more indulgent with others!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Hell, if I can quit smoking I can do this!
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I realize I’m ruled by my wants.\u00a0 Now this isn’t necessarily a BAD thing.\u00a0 Wanting something often will drive a person to work for it, to put forth effort.\u00a0 In a way, wanting can create Will. But like any good … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-twirling-my-skirt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1980"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4514,"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1980\/revisions\/4514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}