Notes from THE WILLPOWER INSTINCT
Ok … this week I will give you what I think are some of the high points from Kelly McGonigal incredible book, The Willpower Instinct. These are more of those notes taken from my summary sheets that I make and keep from the best books I read and want to revisit and remember.
The Willpower Instinct is a truly life changing book if you put the concepts and findings into practice. I highly recommend you get it and read it carefully. Below are the points that jumped out at me. In some cases I am giving you quotes and in others I am giving a summary in my own words. The subtitle of the book is great: “How Self-Control Works, Why it Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More”. The book covers all this and more.
Mark’s notes from The Willpower Instinct:
P. 20 Most of our choices are made on autopilot.
P. 20 Self-awareness is one big key to will power.
P. 21 When you are distracted, your impulses usually over rule your long term goals.
P. 21 To have more self-control, develop more self-awareness.
P. 23 The brain is remarkably responsive to experience.
P. 24 Ask your brain to _____________________________ (you fill in anything you really want) and your brain ends up helping you do it.
P. 26 Meditate on a regular basis — it will help you increase self-control. For example: lose weight, kick bad habits, etc. Meditate 5 minutes a day can make a huge difference.
P. 42, 43 Exercise is like meditation it makes the brain bigger and faster and improves willpower.
P. 43 A big mood booster is a simple 5 minute walk outside.
P. 45 Exercise gives you more energy than you spend.
P. 69 If you are looking for a big change of any habit, look for small ways to practice self-control.
P. 129 When we free ourselves from the false promise of reward we often find the thing we were seeking happiness from was the main source of our misery.
P. 132 We must distinguish between wanting and happiness.
P. 144 Many studies show that self-criticism gives less motivation and worse self-control and is the biggest predictor of depression.
So, without even reading the book, you can see the value of the information just in these notes. And how easy is it to review and remind oneself of this great information this way?
Improving your Will Power
My son David gave me a great book for my 68th birthday. It’s called “The Willpower Instinct” by Kelly McGonigal, PH.D. with the sub title of “How Self-Control works, Why it Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It”. Wow that is an attention grabbing title!
Yes I know I have done a ton of preaching about the “key” or “secret” of reaching your goals–that being my concept of “B-RAM”. I discuss it at length on pages 71 through 81 of my book “How to Ignite Your Passion for Living“. But Kelly’s book ads a whole new dimension to our understanding of how the brain works and how you can program it for your own success.
Kelly discusses the advantages we gain from things like self-awareness, meditation and even 5 or 10 minutes of exercise and backs it all up with science. The ability to set great goals in your life and reach them more consistently can be gained through these methods. Your brain can even be physically changed by what you send though it. And it doesn’t matter what those goals are—anything from losing weight, to overcoming an addiction to being a better parent or making a ton of money.
Most of us think the only way our brains change is by deteriorating as we get older. But Kelly points out that over the last decade, neuroscientists have discovered that the brain stays remarkably responsive to experience. Ask your brain to do math every day, and it gets better at math. Ask your brain to worry, and it gets better at worrying. Ask your brain to concentrate, and it gets better at concentrating. “There is growing scientific evidence that you can train your brain to get better at self-control,” Kelly says.
Next week I will give you more hints and steps that you and I can take to build more will power and self-control so as to bolster our goal setting abilities.
If you like what you’ve read in this blog please send it on to people you know and love, to people who you think this message and information may be very helpful. There is nothing in the world that brings greater satisfaction than helping other people. Don’t you agree?
