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A review by dherzey
The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It by Kelly McGonigal
4.0
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.