> You don't will yourself to be taller. It's written in your genes. Partially genes and partially other factors: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150513-will

> You don't will yourself to be taller. It's written in your genes. Partially genes and partially other factors: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150513-will-humans-keep-getting-taller http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150513-will-humans-keep-ge... You don't have direct control over this. > Why would "willpower" be any different? Because I can willpower myself out of bed tomorrow early in the morning to go to the gym despite me physically not wanting it. I can make decisions that go against what my natural urges want. My genes don't want me to go to the gym, I would feel more comfortable going to the office an hour and a half later, yet I make the call going against most of my body. You could argue that maybe there are some good parts in my brain that have been there since I was born that help me make these uncomfortable decisions, however I wasn't always like this, during my university years I was making different kinds of choices. If this trait would be genetic, surely it would have been consistent all my life. > But my personal belief is that we have far less agency than we like to believe. What if you have exactly as much agency as you believe that you have? What if the whole thing is in hour head? > however my total ability is bounded by my genes. The great thing about it is that you don't know where does boundaries are, however you can imagine that you know and put limits on yourself, however that will only harm you from reaching your true potential. The fact that you can push yourself harder in some areas more than other does not mean that willpower does not exist, it means that if it exists it's most likely not one dimensional.