

Why Willpower Doesn't Work - Redoubtable
http://get.minimumviablefitness.com/blog-01-willpower/
Have you ever approached fitness resolutions with a “just do it” attitude? Were you disappointed that you summoned up all of the willpower that you could muster in January only to find yourself back to your old ways by March?
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Xurinos
Brief rant whenever I read this tripe, and reading it afterward reminds me of
psychobabble, but I am ranting against psychobabble anyway...

I thought the notion of willpower being a finite resource was debunked
([http://lifehacker.com/5967249/your-willpower-is-only-a-
finit...](http://lifehacker.com/5967249/your-willpower-is-only-a-finite-
resource-if-you-believe-it-is)). If you believe your willpower is finite, then
it is finite; if you believe it is infinite and powerful, then it is infinite
and powerful. This "finite resource" notion is a feel-good easy path out, a
way to comfort yourself that it is okay that your will failed you because,
after all, you only had so much.

I see this article confuses willpower with motivation. Willpower is what you
use when your motivation has waned. Willpower is a tool to help you rekindle
the fires of motivation or to press forward regardless because of an oath you
made to yourself.

It comes down to what you believe, what mental constructs you have put into
place, to inhibit or strengthen your willpower. You have the power to choose,
every moment.

~~~
Redoubtable
I'm not coming up with much when I search for cognitive overload being
debunked or being a myth. Do you remember the name of the study?

I agree that willpower and motivation are separate issues but I'd be curious
to see further references on the issue.

~~~
pknight
The study in question might be this one by Carol Dweck et al:
[http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/08/16/1313475110.abst...](http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/08/16/1313475110.abstract?sid=89e04780-09f6-46d8-b281-2bb27815a520)

or
[http://pss.sagepub.com/content/21/11/1686.short](http://pss.sagepub.com/content/21/11/1686.short)

A theory I call demands theory is a little more nuanced. Willpower is a
limited resource that gets exercised whenever we are overcoming psychological
resistance to fulfill demands. What Carol Dweck demonstrated in my view is
that its quite easy to frame context differently so that there is less
psychological resistance toward doing a task. This means you won't have to
exert your limited willpower resources.

To give an example, if you believe something will be fun, you will have less
mental resistance toward the activities, so you will last longer. If you feel
like something will be hard and unpleasurable, most people won't last as long
as they use up more willpower to continue. The trick then is how can people
adjust their mental orientation toward their day to day activities in such a
way that their will power is maximized.

Or in 3 words: work as play.

~~~
Redoubtable
Now that is fascinating. It explains a lot of the really depressing studies
about how we perceive shows like The Biggest Loser and how it makes us both
less sympathetic to overweight people as well as makes us perceive that
exercise and health are not fun [http://health.usnews.com/health-
news/blogs/eat-run/2013/01/2...](http://health.usnews.com/health-
news/blogs/eat-run/2013/01/23/when-science-met-the-biggest-loser)

------
Dirlewanger
Somewhat annoying article. First half is complete BS. For first timers it _is_
about willpower. For most people who have never given a serious go at getting
into shape it will be one of the hardest things they ever attempt. It's all
about consistency. If they don't understand that and start to miss sessions
after the first week and give up by March, well, sorry, but the fault is with
them. People need to realize they're not going to magically drop 5 pounds
after the first week by going to the gym 3 times and walking on the treadmill
(which people could easily think after seeing the hordes of dieting supplement
ads and other BS). What the author fails to mention about the "positive
feedback look" is that one is not going to see any kind of reward unless
they've been thoroughly consistent in their efforts and they are honest with
themselves about said efforts. It's as simple as that.

However, the top skills they mention are spot-on. Verse yourself in them
(especially self-compassion) and you will see results and feel better.

------
Redoubtable
Dick asks if you ever approached fitness resolutions with a “just do it”
attitude only to be disappointed that you summoned up all of the willpower
that you could muster and still failed. A further discussion is happening on
Lifehacker on the topic [http://lifehacker.com/ask-an-expert-all-about-health-
and-fit...](http://lifehacker.com/ask-an-expert-all-about-health-and-fitness-
resolutions-1491534064)

------
ChristianMarks
I am a believer in changing my environment to facilitate what willpower is
powerless to accomplish. And one of the changes to my environment, which
incidentally exhausted my limited reserve of willpower, was the removal of
people from it who believe in willpower.

