Why Willpower Often Fails and How Will Differs

The piece argues that willpower is not the same as will and that failures of self-control often stem from unconscious intentions conflicting with conscious goals. It suggests that becoming more aware of one's deeper will can strengthen self-control more effectively than simply trying harder.

The article separates everyday willpower—the capacity to regulate conduct, feelings, ideas, impulses, and cravings—from a deeper sense of will. People often blame lapses on poor character, which can breed guilt and weaken self-worth, integrity, and personal agency. The author instead traces such failures to tension between conscious aims and unconscious intentionality, making individuals inwardly divided.

Drawing on Otto Rank, the piece describes will as a primal, central life force that must find expression, constructively or destructively; when blocked, it may surface as counter-will or psychological disturbance. Willpower, by contrast, reflects ego or persona desires and can be undermined by unrecognized unconscious material. Rank's Will Therapy, an existential precursor, sought to help patients express will more consciously.