Article By Delia Steinberg Guzmán
“I will never be an obstacle to myself.”
– Epictetus
Willpower is much more than a simple desire. In order to do things, to live and to achieve goals in life, desire is not enough. A desire dies faster than a passing gust of wind, while willpower manifests itself with the power of faith, perseverance and patience.
Willpower means not letting ourselves be tossed around by the winds and currents of existence. Willpower is to be able to stop for a moment, even if you are in the middle of a tempest, and firmly choose the right path. It is to know how to be steady like a leaf attached to a tree, instead of being like a dead leaf blown away by the storm. Willpower is to be like a wooden boat with oars and a rudder, rather than deadwood floating aimlessly in the sea.
Willpower is to be like a drop of water whose instinct leads it inexorably back to its mother ocean.
Willpower is to live in the inner company of our own self, and not to give in quickly to the thousand and one demands of external circumstances.
Willpower does not annihilate the personality, nor does it falsely harden man’s heart. Instead, it teaches us to laugh and cry at the right time by recognising what is appropriate to each moment and what is the right thing to do at a particular time.
Willpower is what allows us to truly love, not with passion but with understanding.
Willpower is not to feel satisfied with our accomplishments, but to make an effort every day to accomplish higher and better objectives. However, this dissatisfaction should not make us lose sight of a goal and an Ideal that must remain as fixed as the stars in the sky.
Willpower is to overcome our problems using intelligence, extracting the necessary experience from them so that we avoid making the same mistake again. It is not to faint at the sight of difficulties, nor to become proud and boastful when we achieve success. No worldly success is final.
Willpower is to seek for the deep roots of the tree of life, rather than being satisfied with its multicoloured branches. It is to choose the soul over the body.
Willpower is what ultimately makes us strive for Beauty and Justice, to seek for Unity and what leads us to the encounter with God.
Image Credits: Tojosan at flickr.com
