Last weekend, I went with my employees to a weekend overnight outing for teambuilding.  Part of the activities was a trekking session in which we would climb to the peak of the mountain which oversee the town.

I have not always been athletic, and have been wanting in exercise than I could care.  But heck, the mountain did not seem high, and I could do it.  I have always prided myself on my willpower.

I did it, but with a lot of effort.  There was a time when i really hesitated whether my willpower would be stronger, or exhaustion would just set in.

In a lot of situations,  we do tend to overestimate our willpower, or we delude ourselves that we are in control.  How many times do we sit in front of the TV screen, and shout to the people there that they should box harder, jump higher or run faster?  and how many times do we hear people say, " I could do it if I put my mind to it…  I was just not focusing on it much."

Indeed in many areas, we think we have willpower.  How many people say they can quit smoking when they want to, and yet have not after so many years?  How many people think that if they only focus, they would be successful in their diet, or if they focus on their work, they would excel or advance faster.

The truth of the matter is that we all overestimate our own willpower.  At the end, what counts on my being able to scale the mountain is not willpower , but constant practice and conditioning.

Which is what we should do in most things, instead of deluding ourselves  we could do it, but never trying.