The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It
Dec 2011 · Sold by Penguin
4.1star
153 reviews
Ebook
272
Pages
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About this ebook
Based on Stanford University psychologist Kelly McGonigal's wildly popular course "The Science of Willpower," The Willpower Instinct is the first book to explain the science of self-control and how it can be harnessed to improve our health, happiness, and productivity.
Informed by the latest research and combining cutting-edge insights from psychology, economics, neuroscience, and medicine, The Willpower Instinct explains exactly what willpower is, how it works, and why it matters. For example, readers will learn:
• Willpower is a mind-body response, not a virtue. It is a biological function that can be improved through mindfulness, exercise, nutrition, and sleep.
• Willpower is not an unlimited resource. Too much self-control can actually be bad for your health.
• Temptation and stress hijack the brain's systems of self-control, but the brain can be trained for greater willpower
• Guilt and shame over your setbacks lead to giving in again, but self-forgiveness and self-compassion boost self-control.
• Giving up control is sometimes the only way to gain self-control.
• Willpower failures are contagious—you can catch the desire to overspend or overeat from your friends—but you can also catch self-control from the right role models.
In the groundbreaking tradition of Getting Things Done, The Willpower Instinct combines life-changing prescriptive advice and complementary exercises to help readers with goals ranging from losing weight to more patient parenting, less procrastination, better health, and greater productivity at work.
Informed by the latest research and combining cutting-edge insights from psychology, economics, neuroscience, and medicine, The Willpower Instinct explains exactly what willpower is, how it works, and why it matters. For example, readers will learn:
• Willpower is a mind-body response, not a virtue. It is a biological function that can be improved through mindfulness, exercise, nutrition, and sleep.
• Willpower is not an unlimited resource. Too much self-control can actually be bad for your health.
• Temptation and stress hijack the brain's systems of self-control, but the brain can be trained for greater willpower
• Guilt and shame over your setbacks lead to giving in again, but self-forgiveness and self-compassion boost self-control.
• Giving up control is sometimes the only way to gain self-control.
• Willpower failures are contagious—you can catch the desire to overspend or overeat from your friends—but you can also catch self-control from the right role models.
In the groundbreaking tradition of Getting Things Done, The Willpower Instinct combines life-changing prescriptive advice and complementary exercises to help readers with goals ranging from losing weight to more patient parenting, less procrastination, better health, and greater productivity at work.
Ratings and reviews
4.1
153 reviews
A Google user
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January 5, 2012
It was fun to read the scientific evidence to what the Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Christian Church were saying about human nature in the first millennium. Psychology is catching up to the teachings of the ancient Christian saints. It's starting to mirror it now! (though in a scientific point of view).
Vern Garrison
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December 3, 2014
Perhaps I was ready to be helped, or maybe this book holds some magical powers.....Following the advice of the author, I chose smoking as my willpower experiment while reading the book. Half way through the book, and I still can't believe it myself, I quit smoking! I have been a non smoker for 11 months as I type this review. I smoked for 17 years!! I also lost 55 pounds!! So this is my official thank you to the author :)
33 people found this review helpful
A Google user
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June 22, 2012
Aborda el tema en forma simple. Similar al resto de los libros de este topico.
About the author
Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., is an award-winning psychology instructor at Stanford University, and a lecturer and program developer at the Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. She is also the author of The Joy of Movement, The Upside of Stress, and Yoga for Pain Relief. McGonigal lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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