Why your willpower disappears (it's not your fault)

What (the TL:DR)

Different areas of your brain demand and receive fuel in different ways. 

If an area is under fuelled, it can't do its job properly. 

So stress of various kinds can cause your mood, energy, balance, or strength to suffer, and it's not a will-power or discipline problem. 

It's a brain-fuel problem. 

Why (the geeky neurology)

There are 3️⃣ different things happening under the hood of "brain fuel".

1️⃣ Blood flow (vascular delivery)

Your brain is supplied by arteries like the Anterior, Middle, and Posterior Cerebral Arteries.

These systems deliver blood equally throughout the brain.

That means:

  • No step-by-step order

  • No “back first, then front” 

  • No VIP line for your cerebellum while your frontal lobe starves in the cold

2️⃣ Energy demand (metabolic cost)

Different parts of your brain have very different appetites for energy.

The front of your brain — the fancy, evolved, “I make good life choices” part — is expensive.

It’s out here:

  • integrating multiple inputs (like your coach shouting 7 cues while you’re upside down 🙃)

  • making ~35,000 decisions a day

  • inhibiting actions (“don’t say it… don’t say it… don’t—”)

  • predicting outcomes (“if I eat this, will I thrive or spiral?”)

All of that costs energy 💰 

So when resources drop (stress, poor sleep, under-fuelling, emotional chaos), these high-energy systems are the first to start glitching.

3️⃣ Functional hierarchy (how the brain prioritises)

Your brain is organised in layers:

  • Brainstem → keeps you alive (non-negotiable, very clingy)

  • Mid-level systems → patterns, habits, autopilot vibes

  • Cerebral Cortex → growth, change, self-control, becoming a better human 😮‍💨 

When energy is limited, survival gets priority. Complexity always comes second 🥈 

So if you're stressed, hungry, under-slept, it makes sense to ask:

“Which level of function can my brain actually afford right now?”

How (apply it to your life) 

1️⃣ Maybe it’s not a discipline problem

If you’re:

  • foggy

  • unfocused

  • clumsy

  • making questionable life choices

Before you spiral into “I need to try harder”…Pause.

Because it might not be a motivation issue. It might be that your brain is:

  • under-fuelled

  • overworked

  • or just… done with you for the day 😴 

Ask instead: “Do I have the resources for this level of brilliance right now?" and take a goddamn breath!! 

2️⃣ Match your expectations to your state

When you’re well-fed, well-rested, and emotionally stable (iconic, rare, we love it):

  • learn new things

  • refine skills

  • make big decisions

  • come up with a plan to stay well-fed, well-rested, and emotionally stable more often

When you’re not:

  • simplify

  • repeat what you already know

  • lower the bar (gracefully, not dramatically)

This applies to:

  • your training

  • your work

  • your entire personality, honestly

3️⃣ Respect your brain like the high-maintenance queen it is

Your brain runs on:

  • sleep

  • glucose & oxygen

  • safety 

  • emotional bandwidth

Neglect those, and your higher functions will quietly log off.

No warning. No apology.

So instead of just asking:

“Why do I keep doing dumb shit?”

Also ask: 

“Am I giving my brain what it needs to deliver adequate fuel to the being a better human areas?”

4️⃣ Learn your personal “uh-oh” point

You know that moment where everything feels harder, your coordination goes rogue, your decision-making gets wobbly? 

That’s your drop-off point.

Start noticing when it happens, what triggers it, and what brings you back. 

Because this whole “feeding pattern” thing?

It’s not about anatomy. It’s about awareness.

Learning this kind of stuff genuinely changed how I see myself and my students.

If you want to go deeper into how the brain actually works (and how to use it to change movement, behaviour, and results), check out my next Applied Neurology training.

Adell

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