The Willpower Instinct – Kelly McGonigal
At Stanford University, health psychologist Kelly McGonigal developed a popular course called The Science of Willpower, in which students applied research findings to their own struggles with procrastination, temptation, distraction and bad habits. The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It brings that course to general readers, combining scientific insights with practical experiments.
McGonigal describes willpower as three related abilities: I will power, the ability to do what needs to be done even when you would rather not; I won’t power, the ability to resist temptation; and I want power, the ability to remember what you really want in the long run. She explains the biology of self-control, including the pause-and-plan response, which helps us slow down and choose wisely, and how stress, poor sleep and low energy weaken it, while exercise, meditation and rest can strengthen it.
The book also explores some surprising traps. McGonigal explains how feeling good about virtuous behavior can lead us to license ourselves to indulge, how the brain’s reward system can make us chase promises that never satisfy, how giving in once can trigger a spiral of further failure, and how trying to suppress unwanted thoughts can make them stronger. She shows how willpower is influenced by the people around us and why self-compassion is more effective than self-criticism.
Each chapter ends with willpower experiments and exercises for readers to try. Engaging and practical, The Willpower Instinct is a helpful guide for anyone working to change habits and reach goals.
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