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257 reviews for:
The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It
Kelly McGonigal
4.1 AVERAGE
257 reviews for:
The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It
Kelly McGonigal
4.1 AVERAGE
3.5 stars
I like how this book is not a straight-out "how-to" guide or a "this is how I did it and you probably should, too" type of book. The author, who is an actual health psychologist, explores the psychology of willpower and our ability to lose control over our emotions and behaviors. The research and science behind willpower are interesting to read about and gave more of a solid foundation on the willpower experiments suggested to better handle our control. Reading this made me more curious about the effect of other factors outside biology and psychology on our willpower in general (i.e. how do economic factors affect our attention and behavior?). Of course, I digress since this is not the book for that, but it makes me realize that some of the suggestions and studies applied here came from a privileged perspective -- which is something you can also say to the tons of self-help books out there.
Anyway, this is a pretty good read for people struggling with self-control (and who can afford to change) and who wanted a better outcome for their goals. The willpower experiments are all laid out as a suggestion for readers to try and not a sure, easy way to achieve self-control. That leaves us to experiment on which method works best for us given the research and anecdotes in this book. Change is an experiment on one's self and, hopefully, some will stick through in the long run.
I like how this book is not a straight-out "how-to" guide or a "this is how I did it and you probably should, too" type of book. The author, who is an actual health psychologist, explores the psychology of willpower and our ability to lose control over our emotions and behaviors. The research and science behind willpower are interesting to read about and gave more of a solid foundation on the willpower experiments suggested to better handle our control. Reading this made me more curious about the effect of other factors outside biology and psychology on our willpower in general (i.e. how do economic factors affect our attention and behavior?). Of course, I digress since this is not the book for that, but it makes me realize that some of the suggestions and studies applied here came from a privileged perspective -- which is something you can also say to the tons of self-help books out there.
Anyway, this is a pretty good read for people struggling with self-control (and who can afford to change) and who wanted a better outcome for their goals. The willpower experiments are all laid out as a suggestion for readers to try and not a sure, easy way to achieve self-control. That leaves us to experiment on which method works best for us given the research and anecdotes in this book. Change is an experiment on one's self and, hopefully, some will stick through in the long run.
Another one of those everyone must read books. This book is short and is based on a Stanford course on willpower. It describes many scientific studies about self-control and how we can use them in our daily lives to get closer to our goals and ambitions. It is well-written and can be really useful to overcome willpower challenges. 5 Stars for the utility of this book.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
After a long time I read a book that i enjoyed through and through, Very informative and practical book. Easily on par with Atomic habits and Power of habits. I don't understand why it's so underrated. Great book. A must read.
Really good book! I read it all the way through to get an idea of what it was. I'll have to read it again to do the practices. Doing something small that author suggests such as breathing deeply for a few seconds really does help with temptations and focusing thoughts or actions elsewhere. I liked how the author pointed out that we can't just remove dopamine from our bodies and expect to have perfect self control. it's necessary that wr have dopamine so thst we maintain hope in our lives and a little drive also. It's unfortunate that media/society has exploited our the dopamine all these years that it has paralyzed our minds and turned us into their personal puppets. I listened to this while at work and took some notes there and finished it while driving to Oklahoma.
It was hard to have the willpower to read this and it was all pretty much stuff I knew but it was helpful to see it in writing. I could see myself coming back to this book and definitely recommending it to others. That earns it 4 stars.
I enjoy how clean this this book is set up. It's set up as a week by week course with examples that are similies which are nice.
I love this book. The psychology major in me loved all of the studies. Personally, this was very eye-opening and I'm trying to implement what I've learned. Even just the knowledge it gave is helpful. For instance, knowing that feeling bad means less willpower and what really makes us feel better are a great things to remember.
My only possibly negative thing to say is that some of what's in this book is contradictory. However, I wouldn't expect anything different as humans and willpower are complex subjects. This is a book I would love to own and highlight the heck out of.
Oh, one more negative, actually. I listened to this book and I would have preferred it to be narrated by a female since it was written by one. Talking to my husband was a little confusing as I sometimes accidentally referred to the author as male. Also, there was some swearing in this book that was light. It really wouldn't have been a problem but I listened to it around my young kids. I just crossed my fingers that they weren't listening.
5 Stars.
My only possibly negative thing to say is that some of what's in this book is contradictory. However, I wouldn't expect anything different as humans and willpower are complex subjects. This is a book I would love to own and highlight the heck out of.
Oh, one more negative, actually. I listened to this book and I would have preferred it to be narrated by a female since it was written by one. Talking to my husband was a little confusing as I sometimes accidentally referred to the author as male. Also, there was some swearing in this book that was light. It really wouldn't have been a problem but I listened to it around my young kids. I just crossed my fingers that they weren't listening.
5 Stars.
I think the Blogher Book Club has officially changed my mind about self-help books. The most recent book up for review, The Willpower Instinct, by Dr. Kelly McGonigal, was not only an interesting read, but one I found quite helpful.
You may remember that one of my New Years resolutions is to “Lose 30lbs before I turn 30,” so when the chance came to review a book about willpower, I knew it could be useful. Although I’m always skeptical about non-fiction (what can I say, I love me some fiction!), McGonigal’s book immediately drew me in. She has a easy, chatty tone with interesting stories about her students and their willpower challenges, and a great sense of humor.
McGonigal’s writing style combines a scientific discussion of willpower with strategies to overcome nature’s pitfalls in your own life. Chapter 4, which focused on Moral Licensing, really spoke to me. How often have I told myself “I deserve this treat,” when it’s counter-productive to my overall goal? No longer!
The book is designed to be used like her class - at the end of each chapter there are lessons and rules to put into practice, along with a chapter summary, and you’re supposed to conquer one a week. Of course I had to read the whole book in one go for reviewing purposes, but I think I’ll go back and reference McGonigal’s rules and ideas for weekly improvement throughout the next few months. This format makes it easy and accessible to really use the book for it’s intended purpose - giving you the willpower to overcome your challenge. Hopefully it’ll help me with mine!
You may remember that one of my New Years resolutions is to “Lose 30lbs before I turn 30,” so when the chance came to review a book about willpower, I knew it could be useful. Although I’m always skeptical about non-fiction (what can I say, I love me some fiction!), McGonigal’s book immediately drew me in. She has a easy, chatty tone with interesting stories about her students and their willpower challenges, and a great sense of humor.
McGonigal’s writing style combines a scientific discussion of willpower with strategies to overcome nature’s pitfalls in your own life. Chapter 4, which focused on Moral Licensing, really spoke to me. How often have I told myself “I deserve this treat,” when it’s counter-productive to my overall goal? No longer!
The book is designed to be used like her class - at the end of each chapter there are lessons and rules to put into practice, along with a chapter summary, and you’re supposed to conquer one a week. Of course I had to read the whole book in one go for reviewing purposes, but I think I’ll go back and reference McGonigal’s rules and ideas for weekly improvement throughout the next few months. This format makes it easy and accessible to really use the book for it’s intended purpose - giving you the willpower to overcome your challenge. Hopefully it’ll help me with mine!