Velleity

If I had to choose one word to define the moment, it’s velleity. It’s a wish or desire that isn’t quite strong enough to lead to action. So… wanting the pandemic to be over, but not enough to enter a complete lockdown for four weeks. Wanting a different president or lawmakers, but not enough to vote.

Velleity—at least the way I’ve always heard it used—is an internal impulse. The individual doesn’t want to use the energy to take the logical steps to turn the wish into reality, separating it from situations where the person would like to move the wish to reality but can’t because there is an obstacle such as time or money or a lack of knowledge.

So it’s a situation where the person has five dollars and says they would love to get a drink, but they take no steps to purchase said drink, even though they have the means and initial desire to do so. Which is different from the person who has no money and is thirsty and can’t take care of that want or need.

Because I’ve had nothing but time to think and plenty of velleity examples around me, I’ve been trying to separate out what comes from not enough internal energy vs. being influenced by external actions. For instance, with the pandemic, I think the reason so many people dine out or go on trips or get together with friends—all things we’ve been both cautioned not to do by medical professionals and encouraged to do by politicians—is because they know an individual’s actions can’t create the impact to solve the problem. I can stay home, and that (hopefully) keeps me from getting it, but it doesn’t make a true dent in getting rid of the pandemic. We need everyone to do the same for that to happen, and if they’re not, it’s hard to keep up the energy to keep taking action to turn the wish into reality. Which is why we’re in our eighth month of this.

In that case, the impulse is external. It’s the other people around you. If they were doing something different, you’d find the energy to turn that wish (ending the pandemic) into a reality. You’d be fueled by the energy of others. Sure, it’s equally possible that your actions are tied to guilt, but that’s a different post. I’m talking about harnessing energy from the collective (external) to power the individual (internal) and get over the gap inherent in the term velleity.

It’s the million dollar question: how do you convert the “won’ts?” The can’ts are a different story, but the won’ts—that lack of desire to expend the energy to create the change you wish to see—can change. We know that people vote when we create voting options or help people get to the polls. We know there are ways to get people to act when they have the initial spark of intention.

We are a little bit more than one month away from an election. Do not count on other people to turn your wishes into action. If you have the wish, make things happen.