Will, Willpower, Self-Control, and Volition
If memory serves, it was during high school that my older sister introduced me to the work of dancehall artist Shabba Ranks. For instance, on his studio album X-tra Naked (1992) was the song “Will Power”, which I enjoyed. Using Jamaican Patois, lyrics include the following:
[Intro]
Will take yuh everything proper
Strong mind and ability caan affi yuh prosperity
Shabba Ranks say, and that the world say
Yuh nuh know seh that the yute dem say
Where say, tell dem
[Chorus]
Will power, strong mind, and ability
That’s why they cyaan stop a yute like mi
Will power, strong mind
We nuff a militancy
Key affi life and di track of livity
For context, one source states that “willpower or will power” refers to will, self-control, and volition. Noteworthy, the American Psychological Association (APA) thusly defines will:
1. the capacity or faculty by which a human being is able to make choices and determine their own behaviors in spite of influences external to the person.
In my approach to care of mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”), I argue that fallible human beings maintain personal agency (the power and capability to produce an effect), such that they can (and do!) exercise willpower (or will power).
For clarity, the APA defines willpower as “the ability to carry out one’s intentions.” Because I maintain that an individual has a will and willpower, I further acknowledge that a person can exercise personal responsibility and accountability (collectively “ownership”) for one’s actions.
As an example, on “Will Power”, Ranks said that “mind over matter will take yuh everything proper [marked by suitability, rightness, or appropriateness],” concerning the exercise of one’s ownership relating to willpower. This regards self-control, which the APA thusly defines:
[T]he ability to be in command of one’s behavior (overt, covert, emotional, or physical) and to restrain or inhibit one’s impulses. In circumstances in which short-term gain is pitted against long-term greater gain, self-control is the ability to opt for the long-term outcome.
For instance, when exercising self-control while accepting personal ownership for your outcomes, you have the ability to try to effect change inside (e.g., perspective shift) and outside (e.g., your environment) of yourself. This view regards volition, which the APA thusly defines:
1. the faculty by which an individual decides upon and commits to a particular course of action, especially when this occurs without direct external influence. The term encompasses a crucial set of activities involving the self, including choice and decision, self-control, intentional action, and an active rather than passive response to events. According to self-regulatory resources theory, volition depends on a limited resource that is expended whenever the self makes a decision or exerts control.
2. the act of exercising this faculty.
When providing psychoeducational lessons on mental health, I use a worldview akin to that of Ranks on “Will Power”. In particular, I advocate Ranks’ position regarding a “strong mind and ability” that can lead to “prosperity” (the condition of being successful or thriving).
Now, as Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) was formed by the late psychologist Albert Ellis, who reportedly developed the first cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) psychotherapeutic modality in 1955, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding his book, Ask Albert Ellis?: Straight Answers and Sound Advice from America’s Best-Known Psychologist.
Remarkably, I’ve encountered people who outright reject the notions of will, willpower, self-control, and volition, as well as personal agency and ownership. Yet, these individuals seek REBT services with me. Thus, I inform these people that Ellis stated (pages 30 and 31):
[O]ur wills are not completely free, nor are we completely governed by our heredity and environment. We seem to be born and reared with some degree of choice, agency, or self-control, but have to work at accepting its limitations and push ourselves to use it adequately. As I note in my book, Better, Deeper, and More Enduring Brief Therapy, what I call “will power” consists of several steps, including:
1. Deciding to change thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
2. Acquiring the knowledge of how to change them.
3. Determining to back up your decision and use your knowledge.
4. Forcefully acting on your decision, your knowledge and determination.
5. Continuing many times to maintain your decision and determination, and using your knowledge and acting on it.
6. Refusing to damn yourself when you have will but little will power.
7. Continuing the work and practice of acting on your will to achieve will power.
Perhaps you reject the notions of will, willpower, self-control, and volition, as well as personal agency and ownership, while considering the mental health practice of REBT. If so, then your rejection is incompatible with this psychotherapeutic modality. This is what I also tell my clients.
If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
Photo credit, Designed by Magnific, fair use
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