Published on Jan 15, 2013
We all wish we had the self-control to say, "No," to certain things and
the willpower to say, "Yes!" to other things. It's almost like we have
two brains that are fighting against each other.
We talked with Kelly McGonigal, author of, "The Willpower Instinct," about this inner
conflict we often feel and she helps us break down willpower into three
different powers:
1) I Will Power
2) I Won't Power
3) I Want Power
Check out her book on Amazon at the link below.
The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It
http://amzn.to/Y7LyYg
Thanks to http://www.lifehacker.com for partnering with us on this month's Life Hack series
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Kelly McGonigal Ph.D. The Science of Willpower
How to Quit Almost Anything
Tap into your "I want" power to find your "I won't" power.
Posted Feb 23, 2013
The innovative design team at Epipheo created a quirky 3-minute video explaining the neuroscience of the three powers that make-up willpower: what I call "I will" power, "I won't" power, and "I want" power.
Although my Science of Willpower students liked the surprise appearance from a bong the most, what I especially love about this video is the relationship they illustrate between the conflicting "selves" (your impulsive self, and your wiser self). You'll have to watch the video to see the final resolution, but let's just say it reflects well the idea that to gain greater self-control, you need to find a way to accept and integrate all versions of yourself, even the parts you'd like to change.
Kelly McGonigal is a psychologist at Stanford University. Her latest book is The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It (link is external). She is also the author of The Neuroscience of Change (link is external) and Yoga for Pain Relief. (link is external)
Follow Kelly on Twitter: http://twitter.com/kellymcgonigal (link is external) or on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kellymcgonigalauthor (link is external)
The Science of Willpower
Secrets for self-control without suffering
Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., is a health psychologist at Stanford University.
Kelly McGonigal
@kellymcgonigal
Psychologist and author of The Willpower Instinct, now embracing stress: http://www.amazon.com/The-Upside-Stress-Why-Good/dp/1583335617/ …
Stanford University, CA
kellymcgonigal.com
Joined May 2009
Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-science-willpower/201302/how-quit-almost-anything
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Try this alternative to a New Year's resolution to create your dream 2014.
Posted Dec 30, 2013
It's become an annual New Year's tradition for me to post an alternative to New Year's Resolutions.
This year, I want to share with you one of my favorite exercises for connecting with your future self.
In The Willpower Intinct, I wrote about the importance of feeling connected to your future self. People who feel close to, caring toward, and similar to their future selves are more likely to invest in their well-being -- an excellent state to be in as we enter a new year. And yet many people feel like their future self is a stranger.
Psychologists have come up with some fun tricks for connecting to your future self, from interacting with 3-D virtual reality avatars (link is external) of your future self, to writing a letter to your future self (link is external), to this age-advancing online photo app (link is external) meant to inspire you to save for retirement.
But an exercise I especially like comes from a study by psychologists at the University of Liège in Belgium. They looked at people's ability to generate vivid "self-defining" future memories. That is, can you imagine an event in the future that will be important, meaningful, and shape who you are?
This isn't about make-believe, such as imagining winning the lottery or moving to a tropical island. It's about considering the most important roles, goals, and relationships in your life, and looking ahead to milestones. It's about reflecting on the biggest challenges and themes in your life, and what might feel like a meaningful resolution to them. It's about making those future moments feel real, and possible, in this moment, no matter what you are going through.
The psychologists found that the ability to generate such self-defining future memories was important for experiencing a sense of self-continuity -- exactly what other researchers have shown helps us to be, and become, the best versions of ourselves.
To celebrate New Year's, why not spend a few moment reflecting on a future moment that would be especially meaningful to you? What will it feel like? Can you imagine yourself, in that moment?
Or, if you're in a looking-back frame of mind, consider reflecting on the moments of 2013 that were especially self-defining. The researchers found that self-defining past memories are just as important to a sense of meaning and optimism as self-defining future memories.
However you celebrate the New Year, I wish you and your future self health and happiness for 2014.
Study cited: D'Argembeau, A., Lardi, C., & Van der Linden, M. (2012). Self-defining future projections: Exploring the identity function of thinking about the future (link is external). Memory, 20(2), 110-120.
Want other ideas for going beyond the traditional New Year’s resolution? Check out last year's post, five resolution alternatives to celebrate yourself in 2013, and get to your goals in 2014.
Kelly McGonigal is a psychologist at Stanford University. Her latest book is The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It (link is external). She is also the author of The Neuroscience of Change (link is external) and Yoga for Pain Relief. (link is external)
Follow Kelly on Twitter: http://twitter.com/kellymcgonigal (link is external) or on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kellymcgonigalauthor (link is external)
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