Myth #83: “I wish I had your willpower.”
Well first of all, a lack of willpower is never an acceptable excuse for causing other beings to suffer — ever … That having been said, I have some Good News for all of you tuning in:
YOU ALREADY HAVE ALL THE WILLPOWER YOU’LL EVER NEED!
That’s right … As it turns out, willpower is not something that some of us are born with and some are not, or that some of us are taught by our parents and some are not, or that some of us learn in school and some do not, or that some of us are gifted from a mentor and some are not. No, my friends, willpower is something we ALL have at our disposal; fully & completely, every single day over the entirety of our lives. For each & every one of us, willpower is not a gift; it is a given. For each & every one of us, willpower is not chosen for us; it is a choice we are allowed to make.
Just as true courage is not the absence of fear, but rather behaving bravely while feeling afraid, so too is willpower not the absence of doubt or desire, but simply behaving selflessly while feeling unsure or selfish.
Yes, you might be addicted to meat & dairy … Ditch them anyway!
Yes, you might be ostracized by your friends … Care for the animals anyway!
Yes, you might be ridiculed by your family … Stand for justice anyway!
My dear Friends, each & every one of you is an incredibly strong and incredibly kind and incredibly ethical Humane(e) Being … Of this I have no doubt. Now all that remains is for you – one meal at a time – to simply align your actions with those noble qualities, and bring that real Caring Self into Being.
Thank you.
Current status of this Myth: Busted
Justification it provides for eating animals: NONE
“It’s not that some people have willpower and some don’t. It’s that some people choose to be courageous in their caring while others remain mired in ethical apathy and moral sloth … How did I go from eating hot dogs, bacon, hamburgers, steak, chicken, fish, cheese, milk, and eggs to not eating any of it? It was simple. First, I learned that animals suffer terribly when they’re turned into food — and that they fully enjoy living their lives when they aren’t. Then I learned that I don’t need to eat animals at all to live a long & healthy life. Then I remembered that eating animals is inconsistent with the fundamental values I cherish the most — Justice, Kindness, Compassion, Decency & Love. And finally, I simply stopped eating them … Animals are not here for us to abuse in any way, and I now understand that they certainly aren’t here for us to eat either. Spend time with some of them at any farm sanctuary and you’ll surely agree. So what does it take to stop eating animals? Well, first you need to have an open-mind and learn the facts about animals and animal agriculture. Then you have to remember that you really are a caring person. And finally you have to make a little effort to align your actions with that True Self … That’s it.” ~ inspired by James Gordon & Andrew Kirschner
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