What Is Willpower?

Willpower involves the ability to exert self-control over your own behavior to carry out your goals and intentions. It involves resisting temptations so that you can stay on task. 

If you are like many people, you might think you could finally achieve your goals with enough willpower. Sometimes it might seem like the only thing holding you back from losing those last 10 pounds, saving for retirement, sticking to an exercise routine, and avoiding various vices such as alcohol and cigarettes is your self-control.

What Is Willpower?

Willpower goes by many names: drive, determination, self-discipline, self-control, resolve.

At its simplest, willpower is the ability to control or restrain yourself, and the ability to resist instant gratification in order to achieve long-term goals. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), other definitions include:

• The capacity to override an unwanted thought, feeling, or impulse
• The ability to employ a "cool" cognitive system of behavior rather than a "hot" emotional system
• The conscious, effortful regulation of the self by the self
  

Is Willpower a Limited Resource?

Some experts believe that everyone has a limited supply of willpower, and it decreases with overuse—much like the gas in your car. As long as you have gas, you can drive. When it runs out, your car stops, and that's it. This is called "ego depletion." 

Social psychologist Roy Baumeister was one of the first to demonstrate the ego depletion effect in his now-famous "cookies and radishes" experiment. In the study, he invited students to eat fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies, and asked others to resist the cookies and munch on radishes instead. They were then given an impossible puzzle to solve. And what did they find?

The students who ate the cookies worked on the puzzles for 19 minutes. But the students who resisted the tempting cookies lasted an average of just eight minutes.

Does More Willpower Equal More Success?

Some psychologists have proposed that willpower can predict success in life. In psychologist Walter Mischel's classic "marshmallow test," pre-school aged kids were placed in a room with a bowl of marshmallows on the table. The kids were told they could either eat one marshmallow right away or wait 15 minutes and get two marshmallows.

Several years later, researchers tracked down the test subjects as adolescents. They found that those who held out for more marshmallows:

• Had higher self-esteem
• Got higher SAT scores
• Managed stress more effectively
• Performed better in school

And these benefits seem to extend well beyond childhood and adolescence. Research shows that adults with high self-control are less likely to abuse alcohol and other substances, have better relationships, and have fewer mental health problems.

Subsequent research suggests that it isn't just willpower that predicts a child's behavior in the marshmallow test. Instead, social trust also plays a pivotal role.

Such results don't debunk Mischel's findings that willpower supports success. However, they suggest that socioeconomic factors and trust play a role in determining willpower.

Why Willpower Is Important

Willpower impacts every area of your life. It helps you accomplish a variety of goals, from exercising to saving money. Willpower allows you to pursue your goals and enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes from achieving them. It can improve your overall subjective well-being and help you to feel happier and more fulfilled in your life.

The problem is that constantly resisting temptations can take a toll on your willpower. And always deferring your needs and desires can create prolonged stress and even harm your mental health.

How to Strengthen Willpower

While many of us struggle with willpower and self-control, most people also seem to believe this skill can be learned and strengthened. Fortunately, researchers have also come to similar conclusions.

Mischel himself maintained that willpower in itself doesn't guarantee success. Instead, he suggested it is one skill that can be a powerful resource for achieving goals, and that people can strengthen it at any point in life.

There are several things you can do to improve your self-control.

Work It Like a Muscle

Think of willpower as a muscle. Just like any other muscle, willpower can be built up and strengthened with time and effort. Exercising your willpower may also make it less vulnerable to being depleted.

Baumeister suggests creating simple but challenging tasks that require some effort. For example, using your left hand instead of your right hand to open doors. Or turning the light off every time you leave a room. Engaging in these relatively easy tasks for a couple of weeks will hone your self-control skills.  

Get Enough Sleep

Bad sleeping habits ( such as getting too little or too much sleep) wear you out, both physically and mentally. This, in turn, affects your ability to resist temptation.

A review of different studies found that sleep-deprived people are more likely to give in to impulses, have less focus, and make riskier decisions. 

Everyone's sleep needs are different. But according to the National Sleep Foundation, most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep each night to function at their best.

Meditate

Meditation is one of the most powerful ways to increase willpower. Research shows that regular mindfulness meditation can improve your focus and self-control, even when you're not meditating.

Meditation is something you can do anywhere, anytime. A five-minute meditation session first thing in the morning or during your lunch break is enough to get you started.

Avoid Temptations

In Mischel's classic marshmallow test, children who distracted themselves were able to resist temptation much longer than those who didn't take their eyes off the plate of treats. Some kids closed their eyes, while others turned away and looked elsewhere. The kids who couldn't take their eyes off the treat, however, were far more likely to give in.

If you can't do that, then temporarily remove yourself from the temptation. You might go for a walk, call a friend, or engage in a hobby until the urge passes.

This strategy can be an effective tactic if you are trying to overcome a behavioral addiction or other problematic behavior like smoking or excessive snacking. Distracting yourself until the craving has passed can help you stay on track and reach your goals.

Takeaway

Willpower can be a powerful tool when it comes to reaching your goals. Whether you are trying to improve your health, build a new habit, or end an unhealthy addiction, building your self-control can help you fight temptation more effectively.

Willpower can become depleted if you are dealing with too much stress or resisting too many other temptations in your life. However, remember that you can strengthen your self-control through practice, self-care, and self-awareness.

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