Willpower

This article in the Boston Globe nicely summarizes a book I just finished reading, Willpower: Rediscovering The Greatest Human Strength by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney.

He and others have also identified a host of things that can drain our willpower, including hunger and fatigue, while neuroscientists are struggling to understand exactly how the brain’s higher reasoning center - the prefrontal cortex - manages conflicting wants and needs to help us make the right decisions. The reason for all this interest? Willpower, it turns out, is one of the most important predictors of success in life.

I found this book interesting because it says something different from the self-help books I’ve recently read. Several books I’ve read talk about making change easier by offering tricks, tips and tactics to accomplish the desired change. However these books don’t explicitly say that you still need to by exert willpower to initiate whatever actions you do take. Applying their tips still starts with a decision to do something and the will to actually do it enough to see a change.