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Willpower is like a muscle: it can be trained, but sooner or later it will need rest. But, perhaps, we ourselves weaken our will, because we believe in the limited “resource”?
Chocolate to strengthen willpower
The view of willpower as a finite resource was established by an experiment conducted in the 1990s. It is known as the “chocolate and radish experiment”.
The researchers took 67 subjects into a room that smelled like freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. The subjects were then divided into two groups. The first one received a bitter radish instead of an appetizing treat. The other was given a cookie. The facilitators then asked both groups to solve a very difficult puzzle. Those who ate the radishes gave up after an average of 9 minutes. Those who fortified themselves with cookies struggled on the task twice as long.
Willpower is something like a hungry baby who needs a dose of sweets.
The researchers concluded that the group that had to overcome their desire to try the cookies overused their willpower. They concluded that the will is like a muscle that can get tired from too much exertion.
Other experiments that have tested this theory have found that willpower is like a hungry baby in need of a sweet fix. When we use willpower, it steals our brain’s energy, glucose. So, if the brain receives glucose during a difficult task, its ability to control and exert will is replenished.
Beliefs affect willpower
But the new theory contradicts the idea that our willpower is limited and can be controlled with sugar. Its author is Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University (USA). In 2013, she and her team interviewed 87 students from Germany, Switzerland, and the United States. They were asked to describe their ideas about willpower.
Some of them reported that they believed in the idea of limited willpower. Others, on the contrary, were sure that this quality is present in abundance with us and is even enhanced by constant use. Dweck then asked survey participants to solve a challenging thinking problem. This task was followed by another that required participants to resist impulse and use willpower.
Every decision, every choice we make wastes the resources of our brain.
Dweck got interesting results: those who believed their willpower was limited showed fatigue after the first task and performed poorly on the second. But if they were given a sweet drink before starting the second task, they performed better.
Dweck also noticed that those students who believed in limited willpower tended to interpret their condition (such as headache or irritation) as evidence of willpower depletion. They also asked for reinforcements more often.
Students from the other group did not show fatigue while working on the second task and did not need sweets. According to Dweck, the results suggest that the theory of willpower as a resource that can be wasted is not supported. On the contrary, people’s beliefs about willpower determine their behavior and how successfully they use this ability.
cognitive fatigue
Studies at Columbia University (USA) have shown that there may be another component to this scheme – cognitive fatigue. Every decision, every choice we make wastes the resources of our brain. But if he has to do it non-stop, there are overloads. For example, if at work you have to think about the upcoming parent-teacher meeting, a visit to the doctor, and a conflict with a partner at the same time, you will get tired faster, start to get distracted and make mistakes.
Permanent decisions – even not very significant, almost imperceptible to consciousness – waste resources. At some point, the body begins to demand rest and responds to compulsion with failures. Cognitive fatigue can lead to irritability, decreased concentration, and decision avoidance.
Perhaps proponents of the idea of infinite willpower potential are learning to trick their brains into judging cognitive load as lighter. In this case, the idea that our beliefs control our abilities has some basis in fact.
How to achieve your goals?
Whether we believe in willpower or willpower, the American Psychological Association recommends that those who want to achieve their goals adhere to the following principles:
- Avoid Temptations. If you believe that your willpower has limits, eliminate the external impulses that arouse desire. So you will not waste energy on self-control. As the saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind.”
- Make a plan. For example, if you are learning a foreign language and you need to learn a certain number of words per week, set aside time that you will devote to learning. So you will think less about specific steps and concentrate more on the matter.
- Decide on your motivation. Think about what is behind your goals – your desire to become better in your own eyes, to please others, or to meet certain societal expectations? Are your goals really yours or someone else’s?
- Focus on one task. Many people make the mistake of trying to take on a lot of things at once that require willpower. They are trying to quit smoking, save money, lose weight, get a better job, all at the same time.
- Believe in yourself. Your beliefs can undermine your strengths, but they can also reinforce them. Keep a positive attitude, look at your task with passion and optimism, and you will feel that it is easier for you to overcome difficulties.