Who is the author of The Willpower Instinct?

The author of The Willpower Instinct is Kelly McGonigal.

Psychology

The Willpower Instinct Book Summary - The Willpower Instinct Book explained in key points

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The Willpower Instinct summary

Name: The Willpower Instinct
Rating: 4.4 (343 reviews)
Author: Kelly McGonigal

Kelly McGonigal

How Self-Control Works, Why it Matters and What You Can Do to Get More of It

4.4 (343 ratings)

23 mins

Brief summary

"The Willpower Instinct" by Kelly McGonigal is a science-based book that explores why we struggle with self-control and how to boost our willpower through mindfulness, nutrition, exercise, and sleep. The book offers practical tools to harness our willpower and overcome temptations.

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Neuroscience Success

Table of Contents

The Willpower Instinct
Summary of 11 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 11

What’s in it for me: discover how you can better wield your willpower to achieve your goals.

Why is willpower important? Research shows that people with stronger willpower are better off in almost every aspect of life: they’re happier and healthier, have more satisfying and long-lasting relationships, are more successful, make more money – and even live longer. In a nutshell, if you want to improve your life, your willpower is a good place to start.

In The Willpower Instinct you'll read why you shouldn't deprive yourself of your favorite foods when dieting, and you'll discover why thinking that you hold no prejudices will make you act in a more prejudiced way.

Finally, you’ll learn how you can improve your willpower by placing that bowl of sweets right in front of your nose – it’s for your own good.

Willpower consists of three forces: I will, I won’t and I want.

Life is full of temptations: you may be offered a chocolate chip cookie right after you've started a diet, or find a pack of cigarettes just as you've resolved to quit smoking. These situations are willpower challenges – a challenge in which your immediate desires fight with your long-term goals.

So what makes you able to exert self-control in these situations?

The strength of your willpower, which consists of three powers: “I won’t," “I will," and “I want."

First, your “I won’t” power is the ability to say no even when your whole body wants to say yes.

This power covers the common conception of willpower: the ability to resist temptation.

Temptation comes to each of us in different forms, be it chocolate, cigarettes or a sexy stranger. And each temptation can be seen as an “I won’t” willpower challenge that asks: Do you have the strength to say no?

You can determine your most important “I won’t” challenge by asking yourself: Which habit that is hurting your health, happiness or career would you most like to give up?

The second element of willpower is your “I will” power – the ability to do what you dislike now for a better future.

Your "I will" power helps you accomplish those tasks that are both unpleasant and necessary to achieve your goals – for example, studying to pass exams and get a degree.

You can find your most important “I will” challenge by asking yourself: Which habit should you stop putting off in order to improve your life?

Finally, there’s your “I want” power – the capacity to remember what you truly want.

What you truly want is what is best for you in the long term – despite present temptations. To resist the present you need a clear long-term goal that guides your actions. It’s this goal that fuels your “I want” power by reminding you what’s at stake.

You can find your “I want” challenge by asking yourself: What is the number one long-term goal you would like to focus more energy on? Which immediate desires are keeping you away from it?

Meditating increases awareness and helps avoid distractions – which in turn boosts self-control.

These days, distractions are everywhere: there are links to click, series to watch, parties to go to. I’ll just check my email one last time, we say to ourselves.

But you’re running a larger risk that you think.

Willpower is a biological instinct that protects us from harm in the long term.

What does a saber-toothed tiger have in common with a chocolate cookie? Each of them can interfere with your goal of a long and healthy life.

That’s why evolution has given us the instincts to fight both the saber-toothed tiger and the temptation of a chocolate cookie.

Willpower is like a muscle – it can be trained but also overused.

Ever helped a friend move? At the end of the day your muscles are so tired you couldn’t carry anything more even if you wanted to. You might say to yourself, "I should be hitting the gym more often, I would be less tired". For your willpower, it’s just the same: after flexing your willpower muscle too much you become exhausted and can’t control yourself anymore. And if you hit the willpower gym, you could improve the strength of your willpower muscle.

So why does overusing your willpower cause you to run out of it?

Don't indulge in the present because you think you've done well in the past.

Hardly a week passes without news about the moral failures of upstanding citizens – politicians, athletes or religious leaders who have done something wrong. Why do these supposedly virtuous people make such large mistakes?

Actually, thinking that you are “virtuous” lowers your self-awareness and discipline.

When the reward system of your brain takes over, temptation becomes almost irresistible.

Why do we often feel bad and guilty after satisfying our immediate desires, like buying a new sweater we don’t need, or spending a lazy evening in front of the TV? And why do we do it again and again, despite knowing better?

Because your brain’s reward system is not always your friend – and sometimes it leads you in the wrong direction.

Feeling bad undermines willpower by triggering cravings and high expectations.

Stress is a common source of unhappiness. It can be caused by professional or personal worries, but also by external events, like bad news in the media.

Stress is one of the biggest threats to your willpower because it induces dreaded cravings.

When we are too focused on the present moment, we make bad long-term decisions.

Do you ever overcommit yourself to responsibilities and later find yourself overwhelmed?

Do you sometimes regret your past choices when confronted with their actual costs?

Attempts to push aside unwanted desires actually make them stronger.

Here’s a challenge: for the next five minutes don't think about white bears. Can you do it? Most people fail in this task. Even though we never usually think about white bears, if you actively try to not think about them, it becomes almost impossible to stop.

The same is true for your cravings: though suppression might seem to work at first, it actually makes them worse.

Willpower is contagious: our social environment can increase and decrease our willpower.

Have you ever noticed that you behave and think differently depending on who you're with? In fact, who we interact with influences our beliefs, goals and actions to a remarkable degree. And even characteristics like a strong or weak willpower can be "picked up" from our social context.

For example, studies showed that if we observe other people acting impulsively, we are more likely to be impulsive ourselves and neglect our long-term goals for a pleasurable moment. What's more, the more we like the person observed, the stronger this effect is, and the more willpower we lose.

Final Summary

The key message in this book:

By learning how to concentrate on our long-term goals, maintain our willpower supply and train our willpower muscle, we can gain greater control over our bad habits – and live more fulfilling lives.

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What is The Willpower Instinct about?

The Willpower Instinct introduces the latest insights into willpower from different scientific fields, such as psychology, neuroscience, economics and medicine. While considering the limits of self-control, it also gives practical advice on how we can overcome bad habits, avoid procrastination, stay focused and become more resilient to stress.

The Willpower Instinct Review

The Willpower Instinct (2011) by Kelly McGonigal offers a fascinating exploration of the science behind willpower and practical strategies to improve self-control. Here's why this book is worth reading:

Through backed-up research, the book unravels the mysteries of willpower, helping readers understand how it works and how to strengthen it.
Using relatable examples and compelling stories, McGonigal brings the concepts to life, making the book engaging and relatable for all readers.
With simple yet effective exercises, the book provides actionable techniques to enhance willpower and achieve personal goals, making it far from a boring self-help manual.

Who should read The Willpower Instinct?

Anyone who wants to achieve their goals more effectively
Anyone who struggles with temptation, addiction, procrastination or lack of motivation
Anyone who wants to make real and lasting changes in their life

About the Author

Kelly McGonigal, PhD, is a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University. She has received several awards including Stanford University’s highest teaching honor, the Walter J. Gores award. She is also the author of The Upside of Stress, which deals with the ways in which stress can be beneficial for us and how we can better manage it.

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Psychology Personal Development

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