No discipline

My grandma says I have strong willpower because I’ve been eating clean for years.

But I don’t think that’s true.

My grandma doesn’t check her phone every two minutes. Not because she has great discipline — but because she never developed that habit.

Good habits are not the same as strong willpower.

In fact, I don’t think we can rely on willpower at all, because free will probably doesn’t exist the way people think it does. There are only prior causes — our experiences, our environment, and some genetic predispositions.

Try a simple experiment.

Close your eyes and think of a movie.

Got one?

How much control did you really have over which movie appeared in your mind?

Exactly.

The same thing happens with everything else. Thoughts appear. Desires appear. Decisions appear.

So maybe the next time you think you need stronger willpower, what you actually need is a better understanding of the causes that shape your mind and behavior.

Change those — and your actions will change too.