How willpower works: the
science of self-control
David Blaine spent 35 hours on a 80-foot pillar just 22
inches wide, without a safety harness,
fighting hallucinations and the urge to nod off (and fall
to his death). He spent 63 sleepless hours
in a giant block of ice inches from his face. He spent 7
days inside a coffin with 6 inches
of headspace. He spent 17 minutes underwater. He spent 44
days without food suspended
above the Thames in a sealed transparent box, ranging
from subfreezing to 114 degrees Fahrenheit.
Blaine is an endurance professional, and his stunts are
not illusions; they are feats of willpower. Growing up, he trained himself in the
discipline of self-control and deliberate practice.
He studied the Victorian training of his childhood hero,
Houdini, and forced himself to fast
for ten days on just water by age 18.
Long-term endurance training strengthened his willpower
like a muscle.
In experiments beginning in the late 1960s, the
psychologist Walter Mischel
gave 4-year-olds the agonizing choice of
one marshmallow now or two marshmallows in 15 minutes. When he followed up
decades later, he found that the kids who deferred gratification
turned into adults who had better relationships, were
better at handling stress,
obtained higher degrees and earned more money.
Willpower helps us exercise more, work more effectively,
and live more healthily.
‘People who have better control
of their attention, emotions and actions are better off,
happier and healthier, better able to manage
stress, deal with conflict and overcome adversity,
’says Stanford psychologist
Kelly McGonigal.
Can willpower be strengthened? If we want to increase it,
which strategies are most effective?
And can those techniques be taught? I’ve been doing quite
a bit of reading into this.
Here’s what I’m learning.
‘In the past decade, our
understanding of the neurology and psychology of habits has expanded
in ways we couldn’t have
imagined fifty years ago. Dozens of studies show that willpower
is the single most important keystone habit
for individual success.
Self-discipline has a bigger
effect on academic performance than intellectual talent.
We now know why habits emerge,
how they change, and the science behind their mechanics,’
says Charles Duhigg.
‘There is growing scientific
evidence that you can train your brain to get better at self-control,’ says Kelly
McGonigal.
What does the science suggest?
Baumeister: willpower is like a
muscle
Starting in 1998, experiments in Baumeister’s lab showed
that exertions of willpower
left people with less self-control.
‘Your supply of willpower is
limited, and you use the same resource for many different things.
Each day’s stock is refreshed
if you have a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast.
Low sleep, poor nutrition and
low exercise sap willpower and create impulse control
and attention problems.
Exercising self-control in one area seemed to improve all areas of life.’
Thaler & Sunstein: the
planner and the doer
‘Self-control issues can be
illuminated by thinking about our minds as containing two systems,
a far-sighted Planner and a myopic Doer. The Planner is trying to promote your
long-term welfare but cope with your tempted Doer. Self-control strategies are
our Planners taking steps to control
the actions of our Doers often
by trying to change the incentives our Doers face.’
Kahnemann: the paradox of
effort and self-control
Our minds have two systems: system 1 is fast, automatic
and effortless,
and system 2 is slow, deliberate and effortful.
‘System 2 is in charge of
self-control, but requires this effortful exertion.
And effortful thinking also
requires discipline and self-control. Self-control is tiring.
If you have had to force
yourself to do something,
you are less willing or less
able to exert self-control when the next challenge comes up.’
McGonigal: meet your two minds
‘Meet your two minds: the
impulsive and wiser minds. When your mind is preoccupied,
your impulses – not your
long-term goals – will guide your choices.
‘If there is a secret for
greater self-control, the science points to one thing:
the power of paying attention.
It’s training the mind to recognize when you’re making a choice, rather than
running on autopilot. It’s remembering what you really want.
To develop more self-control,
you must first develop more self-awareness.
The first step is to notice
when you are making self-control choices.
‘Without self-awareness, the
self-control system would be useless. You need to recognise
when you’re making a choice
that requires willpower; otherwise, the brain always defaults
to what is easiest. Psychologists
know most of our decisions are made on autopilot’.
Duckworth: self-control and
grit
Angela Duckworth’s research shows that what most predicts
success for pupils is grit.
Grit is motivated perseverance for long-term goals. Those
with grit have the stamina to persist
with the deliberate practice vital for achievement.
‘To me, the most shocking thing
about grit is how little we know, how little science knows,
about building it. Every day,
parents and teachers ask me, “What do I do to teach kids
a solid work ethic? How do I
keep them motivated for the long run?”
Duckworth divides the mechanics of achievement into two
separate dimensions: motivation
and volition, or grit and self-control. Grit is long-term
stamina; self-control is micro-decisions.
‘A strong will doesn’t help much
if a student isn’t motivated to succeed;
but motivation alone is
insufficient without the volitional fortitude to follow through on goals’.
Self-discipline outdoes IQ predicting academic
performance in adolescents (2005)
Can adolescents learn self-control? (2010)
Self-regulation strategies improve self-discipline in
adolescents (2011)
A meta-analysis of self control measures (2011)
The predictive power of the gratification delay test
(2013)
Self-regulation and school success (2013)
Her research has tested a self-control survey used
for pupils:
Tough: motivation is complex.
“That’s the problem with trying
to motivate people: no one really knows how to do it well.”
How does this research translate into education practice
for school leaders and teachers?
That is the challenge I’ll take up on this blog in the
coming weeks.
https://pragmaticreform.wordpress.com/2014/05/10/willpower/
You can TCR software and engineering manuals for spontaneously recall – or pass that exam.
I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what
I’ve read.
I can TCR an instructional/academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve
read.
Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
A
practical overview of
Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
How to choose a
book. A Turbo Charged
Reading YouTube
Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like
to join my FaceBook group ?
Perhaps you’d like to check
out my sister blogs:
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com
gives many ways for you to work with the stresses of
life
www.ourinnerminds.blogspot.com
take advantage of business experience and expertise.
www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com
just for fun.
To quote the Dr Seuss
himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn; the
more places you'll go.”
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