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A lot of people rely on willpower to bring about major change, while not realizing that what they are doing is like using tape to hold a piece of furniture together instead of glue or screws.
What is a kluge, anyway?
A kluge is a (generally) sloppy workaround to try to solve an existing problem using what is on hand. Using brute-force willpower to try to make a change in one’s life is a kluge.
First, let me clarify that I’m not talking about what some would call your Will, your True Will, or your Divine Will. Those are different from what I describe as “willpower”. When you apply brute force to a situation to make yourself do something, that is what I am referring to.
The right tool for the right job
Back to the topic at hand, making a change will usually require some willpower. The real problem is using brute force willpower to maintain that change. You’re using a tool for something that it wasn’t designed for. It can work, on occasion, but odds are it’s not going to last. On the other hand, used properly, brute force willpower can really save you in unexpected or extreme circumstances.
My preference, and what I have found to work, is to set up your life so that what you need to do almost becomes automatic. If you can find your purpose for being here, if you can find a driving motivation that moves you every day, then you’ve found an all-around better method for getting the job done. Odds are, if you have an overwhelming drive or purpose, any change you need to make in your life will end up serving that purpose. It therefore becomes all that much more important, and it gets done.
Related to this is the concept of living congruently. Odds are, that if you are living for your purpose, you are doing this anyway, but even if you haven’t found your purpose, this will be of great effect. Make sure that as much as you can, your inner world is in agreement. Try to minimize or eliminate the internal fighting. You might be amazed how most difficulty in doing things comes down to how much we fight ourselves. If you can get all or even most of yourself moving in the desired direction, you’ll be well ahead of the game.
Another important factor (less so if you’re just starting out) is that of existential compound interest. If you’ve already made some big changes in your life successfully, you probably have what you need to simply make it happen. Oddly enough, on the surface this approach seems similar to the brute force willpower method, yet I find it does not bring the stress and strife that brute force does. It’s almost a matter of overwhelming force. You decide what’s going to happen and how to make it happen, then you just do it.
Try experimenting with these the next time you want to make a change. Try saving your brute force for when and if it’s really needed. Let us know if you have another method to add!
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