Appendix 3: Questionnaire on the Will
Note: This is the questionnaire from the book, so is not graded. It is worthwhile doing for self-reflection. If you want to write long responses to the questions, use your notebook or journal. The following Questionnaire on the Will is intended primarily as a self-survey to be made after reading this book, and can also be of definite value in psychotherapy and educational settings. It constitutes an important part of the general assessment, which is a necessary preliminary stage to individual psychosynthesis. It has specific value and meets a real need—to ascertain the strengths, weaknesses, and complexities of the will-function. It can serve as a solid basis for establishing an effective and balanced program for training the will. Training the will is a lifetime task and requires persistence, patience, steady intention, and purposiveness. Results come from a conscientiously applied program, well repaying the effort and making further work increasingly easy. Written answers to the questionnaire are useful in various ways and can be profitably renewed at determined intervals, as a check on progress and a spur to action.
Review & Practice: Appendix 3: Questionnaire on the Will
Test your understanding of the core ideas from this chapter and capture your personal reflections. Scored questions provide immediate feedback; reflections are stored privately on your device.
Aspects of the Will (Strong, Skillful, Good, Transpersonal) Which are more developed and active in you? Which are little developed or undeveloped?
Qualities of the Will (Energy—Dynamic Power—Intensity; Mastery—Control—Discipline; Concentration—Attention—One-Pointedness— Focus; Determination—Decisiveness—Resoluteness—Promptness; Persistence— Endurance—Patience; Initiative—Courage—Daring; Organization—Integration— Synthesis) Which are developed and active 1. slightly? 2 in a fairly balanced way? 3 relatively too much (in comparison with the others)?
Stages of the Will (Purpose—Aim—Goal—Valuation—Motivation—Intention; Deliberation; Decision— Choice; Affirmation—Command; Planning and Programing; Direction of the Execution) Which stages of the will are more developed and functioning better in you? Which are undeveloped? Which are relatively overdeveloped (in comparison with the others)?
Training and Active Development of the Will 1. Have you done exercises for training the will? Which? With what results? 2. Which exercises are you doing at present? Which do you intend to do in the future?
What influences (external and inner) have helped you in developing and using the will? What influences (external and inner) have hindered you in developing and using the will?
Have you any suggestions, facts, or observations to communicate about the will? Can you quote examples or experiences (historic or private) of the use and development of the will?
Have you any other comments to make or questions to ask about the will?