The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It

Name: The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It
Rating: 3.5 (55 reviews)

ISBN-10: 1101553731
ISBN-13: 9781101553732
Category: Psychology
Pages: 226
Language: English
Published: 2011-12-29
Publisher: Penguin
Author: Kelly McGonigal

Description

Based on Stanford University psychologist Kelly McGonigal's wildly popular course "The Science of Willpower," The Willpower Instinct is the first book to explain the science of self-control and how it can be harnessed to improve our health, happiness, and productivity. Informed by the latest research and combining cutting-edge insights from psychology, economics, neuroscience, and medicine, The Willpower Instinct explains exactly what willpower is, how it works, and why it matters. For example, readers will learn: • Willpower is a mind-body response, not a virtue. It is a biological function that can be improved through mindfulness, exercise, nutrition, and sleep. • Willpower is not an unlimited resource. Too much self-control can actually be bad for your health. • Temptation and stress hijack the brain's systems of self-control, but the brain can be trained for greater willpower • Guilt and shame over your setbacks lead to giving in again, but self-forgiveness and self-compassion boost self-control. • Giving up control is sometimes the only way to gain self-control. • Willpower failures are contagious—you can catch the desire to overspend or overeat from your friends—but you can also catch self-control from the right role models. In the groundbreaking tradition of Getting Things Done, The Willpower Instinct combines life-changing prescriptive advice and complementary exercises to help readers with goals ranging from losing weight to more patient parenting, less procrastination, better health, and greater productivity at work.

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Other editions

The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and...
- 2013-12-31
- 288 pages
- Paperback
- Penguin

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