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1-Page Summary of Willpower
Overview
Self-control is important in various aspects of life. It can help you achieve your goals, such as training for a marathon or stopping Netflix binges. This book discusses where it comes from and how to improve it by making better decisions and following through on them.
Psychologists have found that two traits are important for leading a good life: intelligence and self-control. Intelligence tends to remain stable over time, but self-control can be improved.
The first step to improving your willpower is understanding that it’s limited. Willpower is like other resources, and you can run out of it. If you don’t have enough willpower to resist temptations or complete tasks, then you’re likely going to struggle with unwise spending and procrastination. You’ll also be more likely to make unhealthy eating choices and abuse alcohol or drugs.
One way to regain self-control is to reallocate willpower. For instance, if you’re at a business lunch and the food looks better on your boss’s plate, don’t steal it because that would be stealing. Instead, make yourself automatically choose the healthier option so you have more willpower left over for other situations.
Another strategy for improving willpower is setting goals. People perform better when they have a clear goal to work towards, and it strengthens their willpower over time. It’s important to set realistic goals that you know you can achieve; if the goals are too difficult, your willpower will drain away quickly.
There’s no quick fix to having greater willpower. It takes time and effort, but it’s possible with the right mindset. Individuals and society as a whole benefit from people who have more self-control, so developing that skill is well worth the effort.
Key Point 1: Willpower is a resource that can be temporarily exhausted.
Everyone has a limited supply of willpower that’s used up as they go through their day. All uses of willpower, whether related to work or other activities, draw upon the same reserve. So if you use your willpower to stop smoking or save money, it will be harder for you to exercise self-control at work later in the day. The technical term for this is ego depletion because it slows down and tires out the brain’s circuitry (which includes its anterior cingulate cortex), more widely known as the conflict-monitoring system. As a result, ego depletion makes it hard for people to control their thoughts and feelings so they have trouble completing tasks that are normally easy for them.
Willpower is a crucial element for success. There are four main areas of willpower: thought control, emotional control, impulse control, and performance control. Thought control includes the mental concentration required for activities like studying or working on projects that require a lot of attention to detail. Emotional control relates to controlling how emotions are expressed in social situations and relationships with other people. Impulse control requires resisting temptations like unhealthy foods or unplanned purchases when you don’t have enough money to afford them. Performance will power requires time management skills and stamina for tasks that take longer than expected (like getting through college classes).
When people are emotionally depleted, they will find it difficult to control their emotions. They might react with an exaggerated emotional response and feel sad when watching a movie that makes them cry. That’s because those who are emotionally depleted don’t have the same mental capacity as those who aren’t.
