"If You Wish To Be Out Front, Then Act as if You Were Behind"~Tzu

Lily is so frustrated; she is trying to eat healthier and this morning her motivation was so strong. She resisted the donuts at the morning meeting, she ate a well-balanced lunch, and breezed through a lite dinner. Shocked, it was 10pm and her willpower just abandoned her. It was like she was powerless to resist the huge bowl of ice cream chased by cookies. Lily had simply used up all of her willpower for the day-fact or fallacy? Fact...according to Baumeister's ego depletion research, willpower is a finite resource. The act of restraining yourself on earlier occasions can lead to you being vulnerable later when the next challenge occurs. Interestingly, his study showed that even watching someone else restrain themselves can lead to the observer having lowered willpower as compared to the non-observer. The promising news is research also shows creation of habits in conjunction with disciplined actions can lead to lower feelings of "restraint" in making the desired decision, which won't deplete your "ego". Good luck on your journey, be kind to yourself, and I hope you find yourself behind any willpower fatigue! All my best, Dr. Misty R. Sharp Ladd, CPP, PCI, PSP

Misty Ladd

29.07.2022

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