The Yoga of Eating website has posted an interesting comment about willpower,
"Reliance on willpower reveals a profound distrust of one's self. We seem to think that what we really want to do must be bad, indulgent; therefore we must exercise willpower to enforce better behavior."
What should we do instead?
"The proper function of willpower and self-discipline is to extend wisdom and insight into times of imperfect clarity; to remember and apply the messages of one's inner voice. For example, if you are engaged in joyful work, when distractions come you may need to remind yourself of what you really want to be doing. Or maybe you need to remind yourself of the happiness of quiet time with family when the titillations of consumer culture beckon. In marriage, if you can remember the lightness and ease of not maintaining lies and secrets, then sexual infidelity loses its allure. And in eating, as we will see, discipline comes naturally when we integrate into present awareness the full experience of food. True discipline is really just self-remembering; no forcing or fighting is necessary."
What a beautiful concept. I think our warlike culture teaches us to be intolerant of "weakness" and to do battle with ourselves rather than listening to what's going on and honoring our inner wisdom and intuition. I see this all the time when working with clients. They intuitively know what to do, but do not trust it. I myself used to "outsmart" what I knew, but have learned through the years to trust my instincts. (You can read more about this in my article on Listening to Your Intuition). I also think our Judeo Christian background teaches us that we are inherently flawed, untrustworthy and in need of punishment or at least subjugation.
The more eastern way of looking at things, which is presented at the Yoga for Eating website, looks for balance instead of conquest. It assumes health instead of pathology, wisdom instead of ignorance and virtue instead of depravity. I can only wonder how we would feel differently about ourselves, and each other, if we adopted this view of "willpower" rather than our more western view?