You know that feeling when you really want to accomplish something, but it seems like
your brain is almost fighting against you.
We actually have something more like two minds.
That’s Kelly McGonigal, author of The Willpower Instinct.
Uh, we have one brain that is very responsive to our immediate needs and when we're in that
mindset we tend to make choices that are inconsistent with our long term goals.
But we also all have this other brain, this other mindset that thinks about long term
consequences, remembers what our big values are, takes a kind of expansive view on our
lives and on our choices and when we’re in that mindset and that system of the brain
is in control of our choices, we tend to do things that make our future self actually
happier and healthier, more productive, more successful.
So Kelly says that while many of us think of willpower as the ability to say no to that
short-term part of our brain, it can actually be much more effective to tap into the different
types of willpower that help us unleash the long term part of our brain.
Many people think of willpower as the ability to resist temptation.
But willpower is actually three powers: I will power, I won't power and I want power.
I won't power is what we typically think of as willpower.
It’s the ability to resist temptation.
I will power, that’s the ability to remember that you want the consequences of doing this
difficult thing.
And the third power, I want power, the ability to walk around the world with a clear memory
of what it is you care about most so that when you're deciding what to eat for lunch,
it’s not an automatic choice, but actually in that moment you think about your desire
for health.
And actually what willpower does, is it allows you to put your energy and attention on exactly
what it is that you want and what you care about.
So if you want to change automatic behavior prompted by that short term part of our brain,
we can't just rely on I won't willpower, which will eventually wear down.
We also have to tap into I will willpower, like whenever I'm tempted to eat a piece of
chocolate cake, I will eat a handful of carrots instead.
Or I want willpower, like when I'm tempted to smoke, I'll remind myself that I really
want to be alive to see my grandchildren.
By doing this we’re tapping into new sources of willpower and it will make changing those
behaviors, that much easier.
Hey guys, my name is Kirsen.
And I'm Jonathan and we work at Epipheo.
We would love to hear from you on how you can improve your own willpower, so please
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