In The Act of Will, Roberto Assagioli, Italian psychoanalyst and transpersonal psychologist, peer to Freud and Jung, offers us a manual for cultivating a strong, skillful Will so that it may serve us toward our higher pursuits.
According to Assagioli's model of our interpersonal psychology, the Will is a central element of our psyche. Alongside Self/Awareness (the absolute center point) our Will orchestrates our mind and body to carry out our lives.
When we talk about Will, it's most often in combination with “power.” Our will-“power” is our raw ability to overcome resistance, despite the odds. In addition to this common conception of Will, Assalioli asserts that we can use our Will skillfully.
"The essential function of the skillful will, which we need to cultivate, is the ability to develop that strategy which is most effective and which entails the greatest economy of effort, rather than the strategy that is most direct and obvious."
Will-"skill" then is the ability to apply will-"power" in a way that reduces the total resistance and the effort required to achieve something.
"The most effective and satisfactory role of the will is not as a source of direct power or force, but as that function which, being at our command, can stimulate, regulate, and direct all the other functions of our being so that they may lead us to our predetermined goals"
What are the other functions and forces? Our thoughts, imaginations, emotions, sensations, intuitions, and desires. Presented to us in his star model, we can easily visualize these elemental capacities that coordinate to move us.
And with all this in mind, Assagioli offers us a set of psychological laws that our Will can use to guide these internal energies so that they're aligned and in service of our pursuits.
The 10 Psychological Laws
Law 1 -- "Images or mental pictures and ideas tend to produce the physical conditions and the external acts that correspond to them."
The things we consciously do requires connecting with some mental object. And our aims assume whatever shape we hold them in. Both vague notions and clear visions can inspire action, just different kinds. Consider the opposite, can we intentionally act on an idea that we have no conception of at all? I'm not too sure...
How can we use this law? (Ideas -> Actions)
- Engage with, and expand on, the thoughts, ideas, and imaginations that help produce the future actions you desire.
- Practice visualizing your intentions so that you know how you want to act and what success looks like.
- Seek out inspiration and reflect on the way it moves you. What are you drawn towards? What is it evoking in you?
- Integrate physical reminders in your environment that generate internal and external momentum toward your goals. Mood boards, family photos, symbols, post-it notes, can all prompt productive thoughts that inspire action.
Law 2 -- "Attitudes, movements, and actions tend to evoke corresponding images and ideas; which, in turn, evoke or intensify corresponding emotions and feelings."
"Attitude" here means the physical postures we inhabit. That said, how we hold our bodies and the actions we take in the world can generate thoughts and ideas, directly or indirectly. The content of our doings may inspire us to reflect deeper on them or spark adjacent thoughts.
How can we use this law? (Actions -> Ideas)
- Going for a walk is a timeless way to work out ideas. Getting your body moving, especially in nature, can generate new connections or perspectives.
- Sitting in meditation calms the mind. Stillness in body and slowness in breath can reduce the volume of thoughts and allow you to relate to them differently.
- How you carry yourself can influence the ideas you have about yourself. For example, when presented with difficulties you can slouch in disappointment or keep your chin up and steel your resolve.
- Performing or engaging in actions related to traumatic events or otherwise bad experiences can trigger a slew of thoughts, feelings, and images. We can know and avoid these things or find ways to work through them.
Law 3 -- "Ideas and images tend to awaken emotions and feelings that correspond to them."
This law can easily be experienced by thinking about an embarrassing childhood memory. Do you still cringe? Maybe you feel an endearing acceptance toward the foibles of youth? Or it might make you joyful just to recollect it all. Our internal and external worlds are full of impressions and emotional energy. And it's often the case that our ideas of things have more charge than our actual experience of them.
How can we use this law? (Ideas -> Emotions)
- Imagine a role model in your life, what emotions are generated from connecting with their image in your mind?
- Need a laugh? Watch a funny movie. How about a cry? Put on some music that moves you.
- What ideas inspire the greatest ambitions? What ideas inspire the greatest joy? What ideas scare you? What ideas depress you? What does all this tell you?
- What thing is the highest priority in your life right now? What feelings does this evoke in you? How do you feel about those feelings? How do you want to relate to them?
Law 4 -- "Emotions and impressions tend to awaken and intensify ideas and images that correspond to or are associated with them."
The moods that inhabit us in our everyday lives affect what we think about and what we focus on. And we are always in some kind of mood. Do you know what mood you're in now? Are you in touch with the emotional state of your mind and body? How do these feelings influence the thoughts that emerge into your awareness?
How can we use this law? (Emotions -> Ideas)
- Check in with your mood and emotions in the morning and during the day. How are they guiding your attention and your decisions? Are they productive?
- What can you infer about your emotional state from your internal dialogue? Can you work backwards and understand the emotions underneath that move you?
- Understanding the bi-directional relationship between your emotions and ideas can reveal hidden aspects of your current worldview and your part in it.
- Heightened emotional states can often generate innovative ideas. How can you get into an energetic, open, generative state for reaching new breakthroughs?
Law 5 -- "Needs, urges, drives, and desires tend to arouse corresponding images, ideas, and emotions."
Impulses from the unconscious regions of our mind can activate different elements of our conscious awareness. We can often be surprised by the thoughts, emotions, and images that catch our attention. And many times authentically following our curiosity reveals desires we're not privy to. That said, consciously tapping into our desires can amplify these generative effects.
How can we use this law? (Drives -> Ideas; Drives -> Emotion)
- Develop a relationship with your unconscious drives by reflecting on the impulses and spontaneously generated phenomenon in your conscious awareness.
- Meditate on your deepest desires and be open to the images that your mind conjures up. What do these images reveal to you?
- Are all your needs being met? Do you have unmet needs? What does this mean for the kinds of emotions you experience day to day?
- Notice all the times you satisfy an urge you didn't mean to. Urges you're actively denying may produce a frenzy of images and emotions in protest.
Law 6 -- "Attention, interests, affirmations, and repetitions reinforce the ideas, images, and psychological formations on which they are centered."
Said another way, the quality, duration, and frequency of our focused attention on something solidifies it in our mind. A study habit in any subject attempts to use this law to learn and gain skill in the material. This is also how advertising works, by capturing our attention and associating certain ideas to the brand being promoted. Learning the skill of learning can be the most powerful meta-skill to possess, and is the master key to a skillful will.
How can we use this law? (Ideas + Attention + Repetition -> Reinforcement)
- What do you need to know to get to where you want to go? What's the quality, duration, and frequency of attention that you put into these areas?
- Observe the ideas and images that capture your attention and roll around in your mind without your direct input. What does this observational attention do to them? Can you think of something else instead?
- Share or explain your ideas with others. This can show where you might need to focus more of your attention so you can communicate with confidence and ease.
- How well can you direct and hold your attention? How distractible are you? Controlling your attention skillfully is a superpower. Others want to control it, so you must get good at mastering your own attention.
Law 7 -- "Repetition of actions intensifies the urge to further reiteration and renders their execution easier and better, until they come to be performed unconsciously."
Alongside the previous law is the one we all know summarized by: "practice makes perfect." This law speaks to the physical actions we rehearse so that we can execute them better the next time. The more we perform something, the more reinforced it is, the less we have to think about it. And at the end of the day, our habits (conscious or unconscious) make up who we are.
How can we use this law? (Actions + Attention + Repetition -> Reinforcement)
- Think about the kinds of actions that your ideal self would take in their day to day. Are you competent in those actions? What skills do you need to learn or practice to fully embody your ideal self?
- What actions are you mindlessly reinforcing? What unconscious habits do you enact because you can't remember a time when you didn't do them?
- Be mindful when showing others how to do what you already know how to do. Students will practice exactly what you show them.
- Do you notice yourself developing a bad habit? The more you continue while thinking that you'll quit sometime later will only make it harder. Nip it in the bud.
Law 8 -- "All the various functions, and their manifold combinations in complexes and sub-personalities, adopt means of achieving their aims without our awareness, and independently of, and even against, our conscious will."
Likely the most controversial of the laws, it assumes that there exists multiple ways of being that are expressed through sub-personalities. Another way to see this idea is to observe the different roles we play in life. Being a brother, a son, a co-worker, a bandmate, a friend, a business owner, etc. Each role is likely accompanied, consciously or unconsciously, by it's own aims which we use to evaluate our performance in that role. At a deeper level, the roles we play are a way to express various aspects of the total capacity of being, our innate wholeness.
How can we use this law? (sub-personalities)
- Recognize the various roles you inhabit. How are they different or similar? What do they require of you? How can you more consciously embody these roles?
- Do you feel undeveloped in one or more aspects in your life? Which role are you inhabiting where that's the case?
- For some, consciously creating an alter-ego helps them express untapped parts of themselves. David Goggins and David Bowie both come to mind.
- Consider what enables you to express yourself differently in different roles. What psychological, emotional, or creative reservoirs do you tap into?
Law 9 -- "Urges, drives, desires, and emotions tend and demand to be expressed."
What are the forces that flow within us? There's an ocean of emotions, desires, and impulses in all of us; their currents flow with or against each other. Which winds do we align our sails with? Or are we fighting the waves to go another direction carried by a different kind of motivation?
No matter their origin, we are constantly moving in the direction of our desires. At some level we are always doing what we want to be doing, even if other perspectives or subpersonalities would disagree. We can use our will to hold back our urges and notice how an energy builds and demands an outlet. And we can get curious what emotions emotions that show up when our actions aren't aligned with our impulses.
How can we use this law? Well that's what Law 10 is about....
Law 10 -- The psychological energies can find expression:
- Directly (discharge, catharsis)
- Indirectly (symbolic action)
- Transmutation:
- Elevation
- Purification
- Interiorization
- Extension
- Outer Expression
The last law described in this list, given to us in The Act of Will, reveals the types of actions that result from the interactions of the previous laws. Fundamentally these can be expressed as impulse + idea = action. Direct actions respond to the situation at hand directly. Laughing at a joke, sharing gratitude, savoring a meal, shouting in frustration. Indirect actions are displaced in space and time from the instigating event and can be satisfied symbolically. Writing a letter to release pent up feelings that you rip up after clearing everything out. Offering a gift as a symbol of affection. Getting a tattoo to represent something about you or your story.
Transmutation is moving the energies to a different axis entirely. We do it all the time without our noticing. Our desires for attention or affection can inspire us to make art, travel the world, or change careers. We can transmute our destructive impulses to into constructive projects. We can meet our unmet needs through connecting with others or through spiritual pursuits. We can learn to invite resistance instead of rejecting and avoiding it. In business, we can leverage competitive impulses to create better customer experiences.
How can we use this law? (impulse + idea = action)
- Give yourself permission to express something directly when the result is positive, or beneficial, or at least not harmful. Releasing this energy is healthy.
- Explore the indirect ways you can embody your urges and desires. Can you find or make symbolic recreations that allow the energy to be expressed?
- Seek to understand the deep motivations underneath the actions you already take. Keep asking why until you get to the fundamental underlying motivation.
- What higher expressions are available to you? How can you elevate your desires into positive, enriching, and impactful projects for the benefit of all?
Conclusion
What does all this mean for us? Roberto Assagioli advises:
“Ignoring these laws means to waste, or risk misusing, the inherent power the Will has.”
Mastering these laws guarantees a change in how we navigate our external and internal worlds. We don't entertain disempowering ideas. We pay attention to how our mood colors our perception. We recognize different parts of our self wanting expression. We see our actions as the reification of deep impulses and lift them to new heights. We work with all the forces within us skillfully to dance with the circumstances life presents.
Want to discover what it means to master these laws for yourself so that you can change the results in your professional or personal life? Please reach out to schedule a free introductory call.
