The Willpower Instinct LINK
Here's a bullet point summary of the book. Most of the points are backed by research and studies. The book walks through a series of scientific experiments and teaches exercises on the topic of self control and willpower.
the willpower instinct
Kelly McGonigal: Great, so we make lots of decisions everyday about what to eat and what to do. Okay, well, these are all great examples of willpower challenges and I want to just start with a little definition, my definition of willpower or willpower challenge.
Each chapter of the book focuses on something that might derail you from your goal or reasons why our willpower fails us. These include things like instant gratification, cravings, stress, fatigue, blood sugar levels, the halo effect (I was good so now I can be bad), dopamine triggers, and social factors. I must admit it is a little depressing when you start to realize how many things can keep you from achieving your goals by sapping your willpower. But each chapter also gives you exercises to do and suggestions on ways to combat those things that deplete your willpower.
There are three main skills that the author focuses on to help a person maintain their willpower. The first is self-awareness. A person needs to recognize what they are doing or experiencing and understand why. The second skill is self-care and the importance of taking the time to take care of ourselves. The third skill is to remember your goal. Keeping your focus on what it is you want to accomplish can go a long way towards helping you maintain your willpower.
Based on Stanford University psychologist Kelly McGonigal's wildly popular course "The Science of Willpower," The Willpower Instinct is the first book to explain the new science of self-control and how it can be harnessed to improve our health, happiness, and productivity. Informed by the latest research and combining cutting-edge insights from psychology, economics, neuroscience, and medicine, The Willpower Instinct explains exactly what willpower is, how it works, and why it matters.
Roy Baumeister, author of Willpower and one of the leading researchers in this field, says that there are two scientifically validated predictors of success in life: IQ and willpower. While the former is mostly fixed, the latter is very much subject to change.
Strengthening the rational you (the pre-frontal cortex and seat of your willpower) while weakening the monkey (the limbic system and seat of your impulses and desires) is the long-term solution for all of our self-control issues, including procrastination.
She received a B.A. in psychology and a B.S. in mass communication at Boston University, and her Ph.D. at Stanford University, where she is a lecturer in psychology and teaches a public course on willpower.[3]
A practitioner of meditation, McGonigal was the chief editor of peer-reviewed journal the International Journal of Yoga Therapy from 2005 to 2012 and advocated yoga and similar mindfulness practices as a way to re-charge and direct attention and mental resources so as to achieve desired outcomes. The rationale was based on studies on the effect of meditation on the brain, and the Ego depletion model, also called the 'strength' theory of self-control, proposed by a team led by Roy Baumeister. McGonigal's simple summary of the 'strength' theory of self-control: "Self-control is like a muscle. When used, it gets tired".[4] As a writer and researcher on self-control, McGonigal has frequently been cited for her views on how willpower can be built up and directed.[5][6][7][8][9][10] Having emphasized the role of meditation practices for fighting stress to enable better functioning in challenging circumstances, McGonigal altered her standpoint somewhat in 2013, and now emphasizes the attitude taken to stress as the crucial factor.[11]
To get the most out of the book, the author recommends picking a specific willpower challenge to test every idea against.Example: sugar, addiction, procrastination, cravings, spending, exercising, etc.
The average person makes 227 food-related choices every day.People who are distracted are more likely to give in to temptations.Willpower experiment: track your willpower choices.To have more self-control you first need to develop more self-awareness.
Under the microscope.What is the harder thing?Imagine yourself facing your willpower challenge and doing the harder thing.Meet your two minds.For your willpower challenge, describe your two competing selves. What does the impulsive version of you want? What does the wiser version of you want?
The willpower instinct: pause and plan.The pause and plan response is the opposite of the fight or flight response.This starts with the perception of internal conflict, not an external threat.The pause and plan response is also physical.Keeps you from immediately following your impulses and gives you time for more flexible and thoughtful action.
Train your mind and body.Exercise has many willpower benefits. The benefits are both immediate and long term.Physical exercise, like meditation, makes your brain bigger and faster.Studies showed that the biggest benefits can come from just 5 minutes of exercise.
Willpower experiment: the 5-minute green willpower fill-up.Green exercise. Any physical activity that gets you outdoors.Decreases stress, improves mood and increases focus and self-control.
When sleep is the willpower challenge.Pulling oneself away from the things keeping you up can be the biggest challenge.Turn off the computer, TV, and phone after a set time.Consider what you are saying yes to instead of sleep.
The cost of too much self-control.Dangers of chronic stress.Self-control demands high levels of energy.Too much willpower (chronic self-control) could be dangerous. Trying to control every aspect of your thoughts and behavior is too big of a burden.Chose your willpower battles wisely.
Chapter SummaryThe idea: when we turn willpower challenges into measures of moral worth, being good gives us permission to be bad.For better self-control forget virtue and focus on goals and values.
Based on Stanford University psychologist Kelly McGonigal's wildly popular course "The Science of Willpower," The Willpower Instinct is the first book to explain the new science of self-control and how it can be harnessed to improve our health, happiness, and productivity.Informed by the latest research and combining cutting-edge insights from psychology, economics, neuroscience, and medicine, The Willpower Instinct explains exactly what willpower is, how it works, and why it matters. For example, readers will learn:Willpower is a mind-body response, not a virtue. It is a biological function that can be improved through mindfulness, exercise, nutrition, and sleep.
Willpower is not an unlimited resource. Too much self-control can actually be bad for your health.
Temptation and stress hijack the brain's systems of self-control, but the brain can be trained for greater willpower
Guilt and shame over your setbacks lead to giving in again, but self-forgiveness and self-compassion boost self-control.
Giving up control is sometimes the only way to gain self-control.
Willpower failures are contagious—you can catch the desire to overspend or overeat from your friends­­—but you can also catch self-control from the right role models.
In the groundbreaking tradition of Getting Things Done, The Willpower Instinct combines life-changing prescriptive advice and complementary exercises to help readers with goals ranging from losing weight to more patient parenting, less procrastination, better health, and greater productivity at work.Available for purchase at:AmazonBarnes & NobleBooks A MillionHudson BooksellersIndieBoundPowell'sTargetWalmartApple BooksGoogle Play StoreKobo
What is willpower, how does it work, and how can one achieve it? All these questions are answered in The Willpower Instinct, a book about harnessing, training, and applying your willpower to boost productivity and, in turn, your health and happiness.
You may have noticed this before: however much you try and exert your willpower, at some point, you become too tired, and you give up. In fact, you are not alone in that. Countless studies have shown that there seems to be a limited amount of willpower to go around. For example, it has been shown that resisting sweets not only triggers a craving for chocolate, but also prompts procrastination. And concentration tasks eventually bring about worse attention as well as depleted physical strength.
Realizing that willpower is a muscle can be a relief as it means that not every willpower failure is down to inadequacy. But it is also scary because surely that would mean it is impossible to ever reach your biggest goals?
Luckily, there are ways in which you can overcome willpower exhaustion and successfully train self-control. Start challenging your self-control muscle by asking yourself to control one small thing you usually would not. This could mean setting yourself deadlines for long-postponed tasks (and sticking to them!). Or you could commit to a small, consistent act of self-control, like keeping track of your spending. Even though such small willpower challenges may seem inconsequential to you, it will train your self-control muscle and help you master your large willpower challenges.
Our brains are not made to automatically resist temptation or instant gratification. To exert self-control, you need to continuously train your willpower muscle through breathing exercises, awareness, and mental tricks.
Dr. Kelly McGonigal describes willpower as the mind-body response that can influence all areas of your life, from physical health to relationships, to professional and educational success. A health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University, she wrote the international bestselling book, The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It. 041b061a72
