What is willpower? Willpower is the self-regulatory strength required for all acts of self-control through which you can either initiate and adhere to novel, boring, difficult, exhausting, or stressful tasks, or refrain from surrendering to unwanted impulses or cravings. In this article you will learn: Why you need willpower How you can understand willpower What science knows about willpower How you can have more willpower 1. Why you need more willpower You need … [Read more...]
Willpower: Lessons in Self-Discipline #1
The first principle in my willpower series states: Your self-discipline increases when you Minimize Distraction! First of all, no! You (probably) don't have ADHD. Do not take this as medical advice (I'm not a psychiatrist), but for some people attention deficit disorder seems to be just a convenient excuse to not take responsibility for their lack of discipline. The truth is, everybody gets distracted. You can do something about it, but not if you hide behind a mental disorder you (most … [Read more...]
8 Reasons Why You’re Still Not Meditating Every Day
You've read about meditation. You know about its benefits: on health, happiness, vitality, empathy, focus, and success. Every day you hear yet another rhapsody about the wonders of mindfulness exercise. Every day you come across a new scientific study about yet another way in which meditation positively affects your brain and body. Every day twenty new generic blog posts are written to te... You get the picture. Maybe you're already zealously telling others about meditation, and about how you … [Read more...]
Power Posing for More Testosterone?
Maybe you've seen Amy Cuddy's 2012 TED talk on how "your body language shapes who you are," based on her study (Carney et al., 2010) showing that power posing influences not only cognitive but also physiological processes (more testosterone, less cortisol) and behavior. It's an inspiring talk indeed, but... do expansive postures really work? Well, they do influence your thinking, feeling, and self-perceived confidence, that's for sure. However, their effectiveness at a hormonal … [Read more...]
How to Increase Willpower Through Breathing
My Story. A few years ago I was single but not getting laid as much as a single guy in his 20s should. Occasionally, when going about my day, I would lock eyes with some beautiful female stranger, get my heart’s feelings all pumped up, and—shy away from hitting on her. It's not that I couldn't talk to strangers of whatever gender, but cold-approaching stunning girls with the intention to overtly, yet tactfully communicate my sexual interest right from the start was a whole different story, … [Read more...]