FASTING: BUILD YOUR DISCIPLINE, WILLPOWER AND BECOME HEALTHIER
5 years ago I started fasting from Green Monday to Easter Sunday. I stopped eating meat, dairy products and cut down on sweets. Although fasting period is religious, I took the opportunity to test my ability to control urges, desires and to eat a little healthier for 50 days.
Fasting in its strict sense is “to abstain from all or some kinds of food or drink, especially as a religious observance”. To abstain is to refrain, therefore not giving in to temptations and urges – increasing our will power, muscles and becoming more disciplined.
I’ve noticed that the fasting period is getting easier and easier for me. This is my fourth year and I was actually looking forward to it!
“Why?”
- Discipline: Self-discipline increases our chances for more personal success, achievement, or goal. It is singularly the most important skill needed to achieve any personal excellence, whether that is athletic excellence, virtuosity in the arts, or otherwise outstanding performance. Fasting increases our “discipline muscle”!
- Will Power: “One great thing about self-control is that unlike other characteristics like intelligence, it’s easy to improve,” says Nathan DeWall, a psychology professor at the University of Kentucky. Just like any other muscle, willpower can be strengthened. With practice and persistence, our ability to control our impulses in order to achieve later, greater goals.
- The obvious benefits of reducing your meat intake: Reducing heart disease, staying slim, aligning with some of the greatest minds in history. Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Gandhi, Charles Darwin and George Bernard Shaw all thought it was a smart idea to follow a plant-based diet.
- Increase focus: Because I’ve chosen to fast for the whole 50 days, for me the mental preparation just prior to Green Monday puts me in a mood of ultimate productivity. Just like will power, focus is also a muscle that can be developed and somehow the more focused I am during fasting period, the more focused I become towards my goals.
Trying to fight our urges from time to time can only lead to good things. If you try this exercise during a long period of time e.g. the 50 days until Easter the benefits you will reap will follow you throughout the year. Increase your discipline, will power and focus by becoming determined.
You can do this!
Fotis
