Here’s an interesting quote by Atkinson
“Nothing is impossible to the man who can Will — providing he can Will sufficiently strong. And as Will depends so very much upon one’s belief in his ability, it may be said that all action depends upon belief. One does not Will unless he believes that he has a Will. And many a man of inherent strong Will does not express it or exert it, simply because he does not realize that he possesses it. It is only when the necessity arises from some new unexpected demand for the exercise of the Will, that many men realize that they really possess such a Will. To many, alas, such a necessity never comes.
In speaking about the Will, I do not mean stubbornness. You will find plenty of people who are as stubborn as mules and their friends and neighbors will say that “they are strong-willed,” meaning by this that when they decide a thing “is so, it’s so, and you can’t make me believe it isn’t.” This is the mulish attitude of mind coming from prejudice or ignorance and has nothing to do with the Will.
The man with the strong Will knows when to recede from his position as well as when to go forward; he never stands still. When the occasion warrants it, he steps back, but only for the purpose of getting a better start, for he always has a definite goal in view. When the command from within calls him to go forward, he drives right ahead like the mighty ocean steamer, majestic in his power and stopping for nothing.
This frame of mind is best illustrated by the following quotation written of Howard the philanthropist:
“The energy of his determination was so great, that if instead of being habitual, it had been shown only for a short time on particular occasions, it would have appeared a vehement impetuosity; but, by being unintermitted, it had an equability of manner which scarcely appeared to exceed the tone of a calm constancy, it was so totally the reverse of anything like turbulence or agitation. It was the calmness of an intensity, kept uniform by the nature of the human mind forbidding it to be more, and by the character of the individual forbidding it to be less.”
The writer believes that the basis of all personal power resides in the Will and that if one intends to accomplish anything in this world he must acquire a powerful Will.”
The difference between will and stubbornness is essential to have. The Will is definitely not stubbornness as Atkinson very well explains. It’s quite far from it!
And you certainly need to understand this difference quite well.
To develop your own Will start the training:
>>> Will Mastery
