The will is the faculty of freely determining to do certain actions. But in order that the will may always be the result of ideas noble in aim, it is necessary to give it some training, through the investigation of conflicting causes and motives.

As Ribot says: “The I will declares a situation, but does not constitute one.” To constitute a situation requires the formation of character, which is nothing more than will power. And this may be obtained by a progressive training, the secret cultivation of one’s personality.

The human being should impress upon all his actions a unity of aim, and show forth his character in what he does.

The education of the will, then, is indispensable in life, if only for the avoidance of useless effort and to give us clearness of moral sight. This training brings us to the mastery of ourselves, to steady persistence in action, and uniformity of conduct. Thus considered, the will assumes paramount importance in the life of the individual, and forms one of the most powerful forces in the world—free and willing action under the control of sound judgment.

If you educate your will, desiring that which is good, beautiful and just, you will never undertake mental work at a time when inauspicious circumstances make it liable to failure; nothing which you undertake will remain unachieved; you will follow no aim whose fulfilment does not seem to you certain.

The immortal Guyau says: “He whose action is not in accordance with his thought, thinks incompletely.” Now, in order to think completely, an idea must be solidly based upon knowledge. And knowledge is the result of the education of the will.

Let us make no mistake, such training gives us force which is invaluable. A man, having considered the action he is about to perform, perceived what will be its results, grasped its utility, and shaped it to the end in view, may safely obey his will, provided his moral sense is satisfied. He thus assumes, in full understanding, the responsibility of his actions.

The effect of this idea of responsibility is that the individual will becomes answerable to itself only. From the moment the education of the will is completed, personal determination is almost instantaneous. The result is the avoidance of loss of time—we no longer exhaust ourselves in hesitation, questionings, indecision. Besides, as we are able to bring into play, through mental use, the forces which are ours, the sense of freedom grows stronger, and with it the sense of possessing the power to attain the end in view.

The education of the will is of such utility that, without it, the intellect is powerless to influence action. That is the reason why, in these days, so many intellectual people are the victims of hesitation and doubt, incapable of reasoned and logical action.

A trained will brings great stability into a man’s life, first because it enables him to do everything at the right time, then because it prevents conflicting feelings, by strengthening the reasoning powers; and, through systematised thought, saves him from those emotional storms which are as injurious to health as to free play of the will.

Let us no longer forget that all truly profitable actions and strong characters are the work of the will.

Timidity, to specify amongst qualities detrimental to the intellect, only comes from a lack of will-training, being a form of over-emotionalism without control. He who is ignorant of the laws which govern feeling, will be unable to act according to the dictates of reason.

I must make it clear that, in speaking of the education of the will, I do not mean moral restraint. The individual should feel himself at liberty, bound only by an ideal of goodness which repudiates all thought of authority; neither claiming nor suffering it.

This ideal, inseparable from our conception of what is useful both to ourselves and others, always takes form through the education of our will; giving consistency to the expression of feeling, and justifying us in our actions.

To envelop oneself in an idea, so that nothing has power to distract—to withdraw, concentrate upon it, burn for its realisation, obey its laws—such are the principal features of will-training, by means of which our actions and feelings, far from losing in strength, acquire greater force.

Violence and precipitation are foes to all wisely planned action. What one loses in intensity by calm reflection, one gains in quality as the result of this law.

If you train your will wisely, you will double the worth of existence; you will leave undone what is useless, you will realise to the full the purpose of your soul.

And, as all your actions will be performed with the approval of your own spirit, you will know the joy of well-doing.