Snackz logo
The Willpower Instinct

Kelly McGonigal

290 Pages
2013

The Willpower Instinct

How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It

Penguin

Below is just an AI summary! If you really want to learn something:

โšก Free 3min Summary

The Willpower Instinct - Summary

The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal explores the science behind self-control, combining insights from psychology, neuroscience, and medicine. Based on her Stanford course, the book explains what willpower is, how it works, and provides practical tools to enhance self-control for achieving various goals like weight loss, reducing procrastination, and increasing productivity.

Key Ideas

1

Willpower as a Biological Function

Willpower is not just a virtue but a mind-body response that can be improved through mindfulness, exercise, nutrition, and sleep. This shifts the perspective from seeing willpower as an inherent trait to understanding it as a developable skill.

2

The Limits of Self-Control

Willpower is not an unlimited resource. Overexerting self-control can lead to negative health outcomes. This helps understand why we sometimes fail to maintain self-control and how to manage it more effectively.

3

The Role of Temptation and Stress

Temptation and stress can hijack our brain's systems of self-control. The book provides strategies to train the brain for greater willpower, emphasizing self-forgiveness and self-compassion in boosting self-control.

FAQ's

The Willpower Instinct focuses on understanding the science behind self-control and how it can be harnessed to improve various aspects of our lives. It combines insights from psychology, neuroscience, and medicine to explain what willpower is, how it works, and why it matters.

Kelly McGonigal suggests that willpower can be improved through mindfulness, exercise, nutrition, and sleep. She emphasizes that willpower is a mind-body response that can be developed and strengthened, rather than an inherent trait.

The Willpower Instinct offers strategies to train the brain for greater willpower, including the importance of self-forgiveness and self-compassion. These strategies help in overcoming common obstacles to maintaining self-control by addressing how temptation and stress can hijack our brain's systems of self-control.

๐Ÿ’ก Full 15min Summary

Understanding and managing willpower, through scientific insights and personal experimentation, can enhance self-control and help achieve personal goals.
0:00 / 1:36

Willpower is essentially our capacity to manage our thoughts, feelings, and actions. It's something that many of us grapple with, whether it's trying to resist temptation, break away from harmful habits, or steer clear of procrastination. By delving into the science of willpower, we can bolster our self-control. Often, the issue isn't a lack of willpower, but rather misunderstandings about it. By understanding how we typically fall short when it comes to willpower, we can better support ourselves and sidestep pitfalls. For instance, those who believe they possess the most willpower are often the ones most prone to losing control. Knowing oneself is crucial.

This knowledge is drawn from the fields of psychology, neuroscience, and medicine, and it helps to clarify the boundaries of willpower. It also provides strategies grounded in research to help us succeed. This information can be beneficial to everyone, helping us to achieve objectives like enhancing our health, managing stress, and improving our careers or relationships.

You're encouraged to carry out "willpower experiments" by applying these concepts to your own life. It's most effective to gradually introduce one new strategy each week. By transforming into "willpower scientists" and scrutinizing our behavior with a sense of curiosity, we can identify what uniquely works for us. As we acquire new self-control skills, we gain the power to chase after what is most important to us.

Enjoyed the sneak peak? Get the full summary!

Explore Books

Successful and Set for Life

Successful and Set for Life

Get Everything You Want in Life, Work, and Relationships

Les J. Tripp MBA

197 Pages
2015
Border as Method, or, the Multiplication of Labor

Border as Method, or, the Multiplication of Labor

Sandro Mezzadra, Brett Neilson

380 Pages
2013
What Matters Now

What Matters Now

How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition, and Unstoppable Innovation

Gary Hamel

308 Pages
2012
Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary

A Novel

Andy Weir

497 Pages
2021
A River of Golden Bones (The Golden Court, Book 1)

A River of Golden Bones (The Golden Court, Book 1)

A.K. Mulford

421 Pages
2023
The Plot Against America

The Plot Against America

Philip Roth

52 Pages
2010
The Five Love Languages

The Five Love Languages

Gary Chapman

312 Pages
2016
Starling House

Starling House

A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick that is the perfect dark Gothic fairytale for autumn!

Alix E. Harrow

392 Pages
2023
The 5 AM Club

The 5 AM Club

Sharma, Robin Shilp Sharma

356 Pages
2018
The Intelligent Investor, Rev. Ed

The Intelligent Investor, Rev. Ed

The Definitive Book on Value Investing

Benjamin Graham

642 Pages
2009
The City of Falling Angels

The City of Falling Angels

John Berendt

534 Pages
2006
The Great Transition

The Great Transition

A Novel

Nick Fuller Googins

352 Pages
2023
Crocodile on the Sandbank

Crocodile on the Sandbank

Miss Marple crossed with Indiana Jones!

Elizabeth Peters

289 Pages
2011
Let Us Go Then, You And I

Let Us Go Then, You And I

Louis Peddicord

296 Pages
2011
In Patagonia

In Patagonia

Bruce Chatwin

241 Pages
2003
The Lorax

The Lorax

Dr. Seuss

72 Pages
2013
Ali Cross

Ali Cross

James Patterson

201 Pages
2019
Happy Place

Happy Place

Emily Henry

401 Pages
2023
The Biz

The Biz

The Basic Business, Legal, and Financial Aspects of the Film Industry in a Digital World

Schuyler M. Moore

0 Pages
2018
The Midnight Feast

The Midnight Feast

Lucy Foley

0 Pages
2024
Unbroken

Unbroken

A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

Laura Hillenbrand

497 Pages
2010
Bright Line Eating

Bright Line Eating

The Science of Living Happy, Thin and Free

Susan Peirce Thompson, PHD

322 Pages
2021
Along Came a Spider

Along Came a Spider

(Alex Cross 1)

James Patterson

454 Pages
2017
Blood, Sweat, and Pixels

Blood, Sweat, and Pixels

The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made

Jason Schreier

312 Pages
2017
Cristiano and Leo

Cristiano and Leo

The Race to Become the Greatest Football Player of All Time

Jimmy Burns

0 Pages
2018
Theories of Underdevelopment

Theories of Underdevelopment

Ian Roxborough

198 Pages
1979
They Called Us Exceptional

They Called Us Exceptional

And Other Lies That Raised Us

Prachi Gupta

289 Pages
2024
The Wretched of the Earth

The Wretched of the Earth

Frantz Fanon

328 Pages
2007
The Infernal Devices

The Infernal Devices

Clockwork Angel; Clockwork Prince; Clockwork Princess

Cassandra Clare

1485 Pages
2013
Weather For Dummies

Weather For Dummies

John D. Cox

384 Pages
2021

Let's find the best book for you!

Get book summaries directly into your inbox!

Join more than 10,000 readers in our newsletter

Snackz book
Snackz logo

The right book at the right time will change your life.

Get the books directly into your inbox!

โœ… New Release

โœ… Book Recommendation

โœ… Book Summaries

Copyright 2023-2025. All rights reserved.