You don't have enough willpower for that.
Minute for your health #49
Lack of willpower is most likely not the reason you haven’t yet …. (fill in the blank).
Because quite simply - none of us have enough willpower for that.
As humans our willpower is finite, so it is rarely willpower that will help us stick to a goal or get into that good habit we’ve been planning to start.
Studies have shown that willpower or self-control is a resource that is depleted as we exercise it. This means that each time you use your willpower to do or not to do something you have a little less willpower in your ‘tank’. Until eventually the tank is empty and you no longer have the strength to do what you intended.
And yes, you might argue that we can reach out to a higher power for help, like addicts do in the 12 step programme.
But do you know what addicts also do?
They don’t spend their time in bars. They let their environment do the work of helping them resist temptation instead of relying on their willpower.
Think about it. In today’s world we are constantly having to use our willpower tank. Ads, social media, movies - they constantly trigger us to make decisions not to buy, eat or drink something we have just seen somebody else consuming.
Our willpower tanks are being depleted like never before.
So what can we do about it?
First of all - I’m not saying self-control and willpower are not strengths of character that we can develop and build. These are virtues that we can exercise and become more versed in.
I am saying however that you don’t need to rely solely on this fallible and finite resource.
Like addicts in the 12 step programme you can use your environment to help you deplete the willpower tank more slowly - which will mean you can exercise willpower in the moments that matter most to you.
Let’s think about an example:
Imagine you are trying to eat less chocolate chip cookies.
If you have a packet of delicious cookies on your counter you need to use your willpower tank every time you walk past that counter.
So consider moving them out of sight into a cupboard. (Research shows that something as simple this can already have a huge impact).
If you then find yourself constantly thinking about the cookies in the cupboard - consider not having any cookies in the house at all. (This may mean avoiding the cookie aisle in the supermarket and going shopping at a time when you are not hungry/tired/stressed - or whatever feeling it is that triggers your cookie cravings).
And instead of having those cookies on your counter - think about what you would like to snack on instead and make that easily available and visible.
Make your environment work for you and give your willpower tank a break.
Summary:
Willpower is a finite reason that can’t be relied upon. Instead set up your environment to minimise the ‘friction’ in your life that gets in the way of getting into or out of a habit.
Notice the triggers that require you to use willpower and think of a way you could change your environment to remove or change that trigger.
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Links and References:
Research summary: willpower is depleted when used (but glucose might help improve willpower)
Studies that show how many food decisions we make daily and how our environment impacts them
Study on the environmental factors that lead to increased food intake
Study on how changing the environment can make it easier to eat healthier
Study on how what is stored on kitchen countertops affects weight gain over time
In Season This Month:
Who could have failed to notice that October is the month of Pumpkins?
God did a good thing when he made pumpkins ripen in fall - just as it gets colder and we start craving those richer textures and flavours. Lucky for us pumpkins are also healthy thanks to their high beta-carotene content. This nutrient not only supports a well functioning immune system, it also helps us absorb iron better. Iron supports energy levels - and who doesn’t need more energy in autumn?
For a healthy and delicious (and a little different) breakfast try this pumpkin recipe.