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Will and the ordinary man of feeling and desire. The latter is
moved to action by his feelings, emotions and desires, solely,
his judgment playing but a small part in the manifestation. On
the contrary, the man who wills from reason, steps aside from
the emotional part of his nature as one would from an overcoat,
and then reasons out the to act or not to act, and the why
and wherefore of the matter from the standpoint of cold, steely
reason and then Wills. Such a man creates desire which moves
the Will, for he acquires the art of converting reason into
desire a feat possible only to one of advanced intellect and
trained Will.
A consideration of this truth brings us to a realization of the
fact that this inhibition of desire and emotion forms one of the
highest and most effective manifestations and employments of
the Will. This setting aside of the ordinary channels of the Will,
in favor of those deliberately and rationally chosen; is the mark
of the advanced man. Ordinary individuals do not possess this
power, but yield to their desires and emotions, to a greater or
lesser degree, and then invent reasons for the action, as we
have said elsewhere. The developed man, however, creates his
reasons first and then acts accordingly. It must not be supposed
for a moment, though, that the desire and emotional part of
one s nature surrenders without a struggle. On the contrary,
these mental states struggle hard for precedence and place,
and although seemingly defeated, they return again and again
to the charge. The most effective method of combatting them
is through the exercise of habit the cultivation of the habit
of acting as the reason dictates, rather than according to the
ordinary desires and feelings.
One of the best and quickest ways of establishing the habit
of the control by the reason, is that of overriding the desires
by performing actions repugnant and disagreeable to them
solely for the sake of exercise and training. Many eminent
psychologists have agreed upon this point. Prof. William
James repeatedly advises his students to acquire the ability to
How to Develop Volition