Willpower & Motivation When you know the habit you want to change, is it a matter of using your willpower to change it and your motivation to keep going? Yes and no. Yes because when it comes to habits willpower and motivation both have an important role to play but they’re not enough on their own as there are limitations to be aware of. Willpower is the power to exercise your will. To have control over what you do and self-discipline. But the thing about will power is you only have so much of it and when it runs out – because we’re tired or hungry or sad – it’s hard to rely on. This is why you can wake up with good intentions and lots of willpower but by the evening it’s decidedly harder to exercise your will. Although you can get better at exercising willpower the more we do it, your brain likes your habits so wants you to keep them. So although willpower has a role to play in changing your habits, it can’t be relied on to do it alon...