Take a photo of a barcode or cover
259 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
259 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
The best thing about this book is that there's so much information, it's worth buying so you can pick it up again.
Kelly pulls from various case studies and her very popular Continuing Studies class at Stanford. She presents gems of wisdom that I'll take with me and I know reading again would reinforce some of her ideas around strengthening your willpower muscle. I don't think there's a person who wouldn't benefit from this book.
I talk a bit more about the book on my blog here:
http://workingsmart.stanford.edu/2012/12/this-holiday-season-lets-be-less-distracted/
Kelly pulls from various case studies and her very popular Continuing Studies class at Stanford. She presents gems of wisdom that I'll take with me and I know reading again would reinforce some of her ideas around strengthening your willpower muscle. I don't think there's a person who wouldn't benefit from this book.
I talk a bit more about the book on my blog here:
http://workingsmart.stanford.edu/2012/12/this-holiday-season-lets-be-less-distracted/
Don't waste your time. This book is overly reliant on anecdotes and poor examples. For a better, more concise and more scientific approach to the same topic, look at Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow, along with lots of other interesting and useful facts about the brain.
I wanted to like this book.
But I didn't have the willpower to get through it. I skimmed the last half.
The catch is that there wasn't a whole lot of groundbreaking material; in fact, there wasn't a whole lot of material. Unfortunately it's rather repetitive. And even contradictory. It sort of chases its own tail.
Get more sleep, meditate, be conscious of the decisions that you're making, and think of the long-term instead of the short term. These are all things we already need to know how to do in order to take better control of our willpower, but unfortunately, there isn't a lot of practicum in how to do these things.
Most interesting part was around moral licensing, and that unfortunately was just one chapter.
Not terrible. But not my new users manual.
But I didn't have the willpower to get through it. I skimmed the last half.
The catch is that there wasn't a whole lot of groundbreaking material; in fact, there wasn't a whole lot of material. Unfortunately it's rather repetitive. And even contradictory. It sort of chases its own tail.
Get more sleep, meditate, be conscious of the decisions that you're making, and think of the long-term instead of the short term. These are all things we already need to know how to do in order to take better control of our willpower, but unfortunately, there isn't a lot of practicum in how to do these things.
Most interesting part was around moral licensing, and that unfortunately was just one chapter.
Not terrible. But not my new users manual.
informative
medium-paced
Really good.
The most beneficial idea for me, perhaps due to recency bias, was the practice of “surfing the urge.”
I think I’ve heard of this before, but after attempting it with a not-so-great-habit, I noticed I was less stressed and the desire to give in was weakened.
And I did not give in!
So practicing self-awareness, allowing myself to feel what I’m feeling instead of trying to attack or suppress the feelings, and then recognizing I don’t need to act on those feelings is something I’m going to try to implement in my life.
This has parallels to the Biblical method of confronting and dealing with sin/temptation/pain.
I think the practice of “surfing the urge” can be found in the Psalms of the Old Testament, but I hadn’t noticed the particulars of what the Psalmists were portraying. Of course, the Psalms add the element of trusting God and relying ultimately on His provision, which takes “surfing the urge” to another level.
Eg the Psalmists sing/speak to the LORD of their sorrows, their fears, their angers, etc, they are aware of their feelings, they bring them to God, they work through them, and they recognize they don’t have to act on them, they can even receive strength from their God to walk in the way of righteousness.
What I hadn’t really thought about was that the Psalmists aren’t simply using God to get rid of the bad feelings they are actually sitting with their unwanted feelings, observing them, and then bringing them to God and reinterpreting those in light of God’s promises, as well as asking Him to give them new strength, not so much to say no to the feelings, but to say yes to following/trusting Him.
The elements of time/sitting and becoming more of an observer, rather than making myself the instigator, of the feelings is something I haven’t really practiced very well. So seeing that I think will be really helpful.
(Psalm 73 is probably an example of Biblically “surfing the urge.”)
The most beneficial idea for me, perhaps due to recency bias, was the practice of “surfing the urge.”
I think I’ve heard of this before, but after attempting it with a not-so-great-habit, I noticed I was less stressed and the desire to give in was weakened.
And I did not give in!
So practicing self-awareness, allowing myself to feel what I’m feeling instead of trying to attack or suppress the feelings, and then recognizing I don’t need to act on those feelings is something I’m going to try to implement in my life.
This has parallels to the Biblical method of confronting and dealing with sin/temptation/pain.
I think the practice of “surfing the urge” can be found in the Psalms of the Old Testament, but I hadn’t noticed the particulars of what the Psalmists were portraying. Of course, the Psalms add the element of trusting God and relying ultimately on His provision, which takes “surfing the urge” to another level.
Eg the Psalmists sing/speak to the LORD of their sorrows, their fears, their angers, etc, they are aware of their feelings, they bring them to God, they work through them, and they recognize they don’t have to act on them, they can even receive strength from their God to walk in the way of righteousness.
What I hadn’t really thought about was that the Psalmists aren’t simply using God to get rid of the bad feelings they are actually sitting with their unwanted feelings, observing them, and then bringing them to God and reinterpreting those in light of God’s promises, as well as asking Him to give them new strength, not so much to say no to the feelings, but to say yes to following/trusting Him.
The elements of time/sitting and becoming more of an observer, rather than making myself the instigator, of the feelings is something I haven’t really practiced very well. So seeing that I think will be really helpful.
(Psalm 73 is probably an example of Biblically “surfing the urge.”)
4 1/2 stars!
This book was fascinating to my psychology loving self. I feel that what takes this book above the typical pop-psychology book is that it has practical solutions for everyone and goes above the eye-opening category into potentially life-changing. I highly recommend this book to everyone who has a vice they struggle with, whether it be wasting time, eating too many sweets, internet addiction, not getting enough sleep, losing their temper, being late, or whatever (so basically, this book is for everyone who is human). I intend to purchase this book and go through it at a more leisurely pace so that I can more effectively put into practice what I have learned.
My only concern with this book was that I felt that it focused so much on the science of the human mind, that it overlooked the human spirit. It failed to make enough of a distinction between humans and our animal counterparts. There were parts of the book that felt a tad de-humanizing to our species. But that does not take away from the research and practical applications presented. It is a book about science, after all. And in any case, it is a very compelling read!
This book was fascinating to my psychology loving self. I feel that what takes this book above the typical pop-psychology book is that it has practical solutions for everyone and goes above the eye-opening category into potentially life-changing. I highly recommend this book to everyone who has a vice they struggle with, whether it be wasting time, eating too many sweets, internet addiction, not getting enough sleep, losing their temper, being late, or whatever (so basically, this book is for everyone who is human). I intend to purchase this book and go through it at a more leisurely pace so that I can more effectively put into practice what I have learned.
My only concern with this book was that I felt that it focused so much on the science of the human mind, that it overlooked the human spirit. It failed to make enough of a distinction between humans and our animal counterparts. There were parts of the book that felt a tad de-humanizing to our species. But that does not take away from the research and practical applications presented. It is a book about science, after all. And in any case, it is a very compelling read!
The research summarized in this book is fascinating. It was a comfort to read it, because it felt like a pretty balanced perspective.
It can be exhausting, combing the internet for the latest peer-reviewed results confirming the “right” way to do something, or whether willpower means this or that, whether it is a nonrenewable resource or what we can do to renew it, or how fast it can run out and what to do when it does. The world is a complex place, and our own motivations and willpower and determination feel like the key to unlocking greater success.
The advice is practical, too, and fairly simple, so you know it’s probably accurate. It can be really frustrating to be hoping for a quick hack and then hear that we should get 8+ hours of sleep per night for best results. If I had that kind of time already, I wouldn’t be reading sciency-self-help-lifehack books. :D
But in all seriousness, this book was really useful. I didn’t follow along with all the exercises as recommended, but I love what I absorbed about willpower, and all the tangential things related to it like weight loss/gain processes and stress tolerances.
The writing style was approachable, friendly, easy to digest. The research is shared in the narrative fashion that is so popular and so accessible now (think Brene Brown, Emily Nagoski). This is a great read for anyone who is curious about how the brain and body actually work to balance out your needs/wants/impulses, and who want to tweak their systems to achieve greater happiness and success. Enjoy!
It can be exhausting, combing the internet for the latest peer-reviewed results confirming the “right” way to do something, or whether willpower means this or that, whether it is a nonrenewable resource or what we can do to renew it, or how fast it can run out and what to do when it does. The world is a complex place, and our own motivations and willpower and determination feel like the key to unlocking greater success.
The advice is practical, too, and fairly simple, so you know it’s probably accurate. It can be really frustrating to be hoping for a quick hack and then hear that we should get 8+ hours of sleep per night for best results. If I had that kind of time already, I wouldn’t be reading sciency-self-help-lifehack books. :D
But in all seriousness, this book was really useful. I didn’t follow along with all the exercises as recommended, but I love what I absorbed about willpower, and all the tangential things related to it like weight loss/gain processes and stress tolerances.
The writing style was approachable, friendly, easy to digest. The research is shared in the narrative fashion that is so popular and so accessible now (think Brene Brown, Emily Nagoski). This is a great read for anyone who is curious about how the brain and body actually work to balance out your needs/wants/impulses, and who want to tweak their systems to achieve greater happiness and success. Enjoy!
Lots of good sciency back up + lots of practical activities. No magical thinking.
Would not recommend for that cohort of my friends who reject all pos living/pop psych out of hand.
But for anyone else who is interested in the science of willpower and/or trying to cultivate a bit more of it in their own life, I found this interesting, easy to read, and (when I could summon the willpower to apply the advice) pretty effective
Would not recommend for that cohort of my friends who reject all pos living/pop psych out of hand.
But for anyone else who is interested in the science of willpower and/or trying to cultivate a bit more of it in their own life, I found this interesting, easy to read, and (when I could summon the willpower to apply the advice) pretty effective
I'm rather inexperienced in the self-help genre (for a reason), and I had low expectations. However, McGonigal did a great job of establishing an outline, setting forward research-based assertions, and giving examples. Plus the summary tables at the end of the chapters were the bomb. Altogether, The Willpower Instinct has equipped me with practical ways to be more self-aware and influence my self-talk. 10/10 would read again (when I'm having another personal crisis woof)
Needless to say, EVERY COLLEGE STUDENT SHOULD READ THIS. I learned so much and I am so glad this was a component to my Learning & Motivation class this semester.
“The biggest enemies of willpower: temptation, self-criticism, and stress. (...) these three skills —self-awareness, self-care, and remembering what matter most— are the foundation for self-control.”
“The biggest enemies of willpower: temptation, self-criticism, and stress. (...) these three skills —self-awareness, self-care, and remembering what matter most— are the foundation for self-control.”