There’s a really interesting piece by Greg Walton and Carol Dweck on the social psychology of willpower that I want to share with our readers this week – especially those of you who may be struggling with New Year’s resolutions!
The article presents the findings of research conducted both in the lab and in the real world that suggests how much willpower we have is directly related to how much we believe we have. Some of their findings:
- When people believe that willpower is fixed and limited, their willpower is easily depleted.
- If people believe that willpower is self-renewing ….then people successfully exert more willpower.
- Anyone can be prompted to think that willpower is not so limited. When people read statements that reminded them of the power of willpower they kept on working and performing well with no sign of depletion on a difficult cognitive task and they made half as many mistakes as compared to people who read statements about limited willpower.
- During stressful times, students who believed that willpower was not limited reported eating less junk food and procrastinating less than students who did not share that belief. They also showed more academic growth, earning better grades that term than their “pessimistic” counterparts.
According to Walton and Dweck this happens because:
People who think that willpower is limited are on the lookout for signs of fatigue. When they detect fatigue, they slack off. People who get the message that willpower is not so limited may feel tired, but for them this is no sign to give up — it’s a sign to dig deeper and find more resources.
The researchers maintain that willpower is not completely unlimited – we need to eat and sleep to be able to function well. And some challenges that we face are simply too difficult to be overcome simply with willpower. But the bigger take away message is the power of a “can do” mindset.
The next time you are facing an uphill struggle – in any context – remember that believing your willpower is strong and unlimited just might get you through to where you want to be.
