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Reddit mentions of The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It

Sentiment score: 16
Reddit mentions: 23

We found 23 Reddit mentions of The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It. Here are the top ones.

The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It
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Avery Publishing Group
Specs:
ColorGold
Height9.3 Inches
Length6.2 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateDecember 2011
Weight1.05 Pounds
Width1.1 Inches

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Found 23 comments on The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It:

u/TheRainMonster · 8 pointsr/loseit

I very much recommend reading "The Willpower Instinct" by Kelly McGonigal. The book examines what happens in the brain when faced with situations where we have to exert willpower to avoid temptations, whether involving food, finances, cigarettes, sex, etc. I can't tell you how helpful it's been to be able to recognize when my brain is trying to mess with me, and moreover to work to make sure I prepare for that so I'm less likely to give in at those ties.

Here's a link to a google talk she did which goes over some material from the book.

u/oblique63 · 7 pointsr/INTP

Ishmael - If you ever wondered what it would be like to be a telepathic gorilla, this will probably give you the closest answer.

The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking - The INTP Toolbox.

The Willpower Instinct - Because we all know we could use a bit more of it around here...

Emotional Vampires - A survival guide to protect your Fe

How To Create A Mind - Since it's ultimately the only thing we really seem to care about, it's interesting to think how we could theoretically create a 'backup' for it eventually

The Talent Code - In case you haven't quite figured out how to go about mastering skills yet.

u/griminald · 5 pointsr/getdisciplined

Just wanted to throw this here, too:

I just finished the Audible version of The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It

The author is a Stanford psychologist, and this book roughly follows the curriculum of her course, "The Science of Willpower", which was one of the most popular courses ever run at Stanford.

It's designed to be approached in a sort of "one chapter per week" mindset, with self-experiments to conduct in each week and anecdotes of how some of her students approached their issues on each topic.

IMO it's a great book for people who lack a "connection" to other material they're reading.

u/scrndude · 3 pointsr/tifu

I'm going through something similar, I'm not very far into it but so far I've found this helping a lot: http://www.amazon.com/The-Willpower-Instinct-Self-Control-Matters/dp/1583334386/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375855716&sr=8-1&keywords=kelly+mcgonigal

The book looks at willpower through a psychology/neuroscience lens, and basically teaches you to take advantage of the way your brain works to help you gain more self-control. The author teaches several classes at stanford, and wrote this book after teaching a couple classes on willpower.

You can find out more about it from here: http://kellymcgonigal.com/category/videos/

(I've only watched this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SROtK-LLZvQ , it basically covers some of the more surprising findings about the way the brain works).

Don't beat yourself up, you're a good person and you can get through this.

u/Cryocore · 3 pointsr/gamedev

I deleted my Steam folder 3 weeks back. All 560GB of it. Been the most productive ever since, when compared to the last 3 years. Created a new 3D engine from scratch since the old one I was using was not scaling well in iPhone and started working on the game code

I read this book: Will Power Instinct that helped me realize a pattern.

Identifying and updating your habbits help enforce more self control and keep you focused. Currently reading this book: The Power of Habbit

u/Fapallo13 · 3 pointsr/NoFap

Great advice, though you should probably give credit to the book you got it all from.

The Willpower Instinct

Definitely a helpful book for getting through NoFap. Or if you dont want to buy the book, orsz gave a pretty good summary of each chapter.

u/Blittster · 2 pointsr/NoFap

The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D. It's an amazing book that I heard about on /NoFap a few months ago. Great reviews on Amazon. It definitely gave me hope for a stronger mindset.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1583334386

u/wotsthestory · 2 pointsr/NoFap

I don't think there's anything "broken" about you; basically this NF shit is tough! Look around this subreddit at how few people have more than 14 days on their counters. I suspect most people don't just start NoFap and immediately go 90 days no problem. Usually they start off with shorter streaks and gradually build up self-control.

I think that the only reason I haven't relapsed yet (though I've been very close) is that I've been meditating for years. Meditation is deceptively simple, but it's actually an incredibly powerful tool for taking control of your thoughts and emotions. Until you manage to change your habitual thought patterns and emotional reactions, your behaviour will not change much. Maybe try and develop a daily meditation practice if you haven't already (even 10-15 minutes a day makes a difference, but the effects are cumulative so you need to do it every day).

Success in life isn't necessarily related to IQ and looks; numerous studies have shown that success depends heavily on self-control (and also self-confidence, when it comes to women). Here's a brilliant book on self-control based on recent psych research:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Willpower-Instinct-Self-Control-Matters/dp/1583334386

All the best.

u/iamSIMR · 2 pointsr/IWantToLearn

Check out The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal -- Amazon Link -- 56 reviews averaging 5/5 stars (EDIT: I rounded, its 4.8/5 stars... still impressive). Pretty good right?

I'm honestly a pretty big skeptic when it comes to self-help books but she attacks the entire process scientifically and allows you to take the changes one step at a time. It's at the very least an interesting read. It should help you put together some steps to attack your lack of willpower though. You can't get anywhere without a plan and sometimes simply figuring out the steps to that plan is more difficult than executing it.

Just getting up and doing it doesn't help me everyday. It helps some days but not all. Check out the book or at least figure out your long term goals and the steps you'll need to take to achieve them and then live your day accordingly.

A philosophy I live by (started recently and if someone has said this before, I apologize for making it seem like my own... but if no one has - then it's mine :) haha) -- Live today as a better person than yesterday and I don't mean the person you were a week ago, or a year ago... I mean literally yesterday. Be better than that guy (or girl). If you fail at it today, it's okay. It'll make tomorrow that much easier but just continue to be better than yesterday.

K my two cents.

u/sweDany · 2 pointsr/GetMotivated

Now that you found this piece of self-revelation don't you dare let it go. Imprint it in your memory (Dat Feel)! Find out what you REALLY want and go for it! No. Excuses. Never give up. Remember that failure and rejection are only the first steps to succeeding! And if you do feel like getting some motivation, /u/X_Cody is quite right on limiting your search for motivation. Let it be Inspiration, don't let it become Procrastination.

Keep it up, keep it real and don't you dare give up! Take the small steps so that you can become the great individual you know deep down inside who you can become!

If you feel that you have a hard time to discipline yourself I'd recommend taking a look at the Willpower instinct by Kelly McGonigal

u/vraiment_cute · 2 pointsr/getdisciplined

I just finished reading a book called The Willpower Instinct and one thing that stuck out to me is that we always have two sides to us that are constantly struggling with each other - first is the immediate gratification. The other is the strong-willed one who wants to reach their goals.

Every time you are about to go on reddit or play video games, think to yourself "does this action align with my end goal?" I had a problem with always drinking soda, but my end goal was to consume less sugar. So instead of drinking a Coke and thinking "ahh, it's just a treat - it doesn't count", I'd look at it and think "drinking this doesn't align with my end goal."

Thinking about things and how they relate to my goals helped me stop procrastinating. I really recommend you read that book. I finished it in 2 or 3 days.

u/vascopyjama88 · 2 pointsr/IWantToLearn

I'll be the second person to recommend the following book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Willpower-Instinct-Self-Control-Matters/dp/1583334386[1]

It has all you need to know. Read it slowly, surely, and follow the clear, practical advice.

u/ExplicitInformant · 2 pointsr/getdisciplined

While I don't have any suggestions for specific rewards (I am in the same bind as you), I have a suggestion for the method of reward. (Disclaimer: This is not originally my idea - see the last paragraph if you want more information.)

Instead of picking a specific reward for a specific action, make it a game. Uncertain rewards are more rewarding, so the idea is to make the reward process a bit of a fun gamble. First, set up a rewards jar containing...

  • 60%-65% motivational quotes/notes (i.e., non-rewards, but a bit more motivating than "please try again")
  • 20-25% small rewards (something you can afford 5-7 times a week - e.g., going to Starbucks one morning, taking half the day off guilt free, etc.)
  • 2-4% moderate rewards (around $20-$25 depending on income - e.g., a day off without worrying about school, getting a cheap book or toy, going out to a nice, non fast-food restaurant, etc.)
  • 1% or so large rewards (a new TV, gaming system, expensive new game, etc).

    You can do this gradually (e.g., to start, every small-moderate reward you think of, throw in two non-rewards. Once you have a decent number of these slips, throw in your larger rewards, trying to generally keep to the above breakdown).


    Next, set up a point system. If you earn 1000 points, you can draw from your rewards jar. You earn points by completing activities that might not be inherently rewarding in the moment (e.g., boring homework, flossing), but that you would like to be able to complete.

  • The more difficult the activity, the more points. Note: I mean difficult for you, including boring, anxiety-provoking, etc. If you have a huge paper you want to start early but it makes you sick to think about it, perhaps you earn 500pts or even a full 1000pts for just sitting down and doing 45 minutes of work. Similarly, if it is really easy, you earn fewer points.
  • To further make it a game, you can set up challenges. For instance, if you have a scary/large paper to write, make an outline for the paper. The challenge: each line starts with a new letter of the alphabet, from A to Z. You have an hour (or an hour and a half). If you succeed, 1500 pts! This can make difficult tasks even more of a game, and at the end, you have an outline you can revise vs. a blank page.
  • If you are trying to establish habits (e.g., exercise MWF), award yourself points for each successful day (say, 250pts - more or less depending on how challenging it is to make yourself exercise). If you do all of the planned days (here, M, W, and F), you get a bonus (say, 300pts).

    On the whole, if you're moderately productive, you'll be able to draw from your rewards jar a few times a week.


    This gets around a couple of problems I've personally encountered in rewarding myself: (1) Picking a reward: It has to be something you want now, otherwise it won't be rewarding. (2) Once you identified what you want NOW, it is hard to then do something else just to earn it (particularly if you tend to give in to those desires). Instead, this allows you to earn the chance to play a fun game that isn't rewarding to just play without earning the chance. (At least, I can't imagine just sitting and drawing reward slips without earning points - that would be kinda boring!) You also are being rewarded for gradual work, instead of the same rewards for tasks that change a lot in type and difficulty.

    Source: I can't take credit for this idea! I got this from a very informative and useful interview with a graduate student who used this reward system to combat procrastination (found here). She based this on research cited in The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal. (Specifically, studies have found that more addicts will stay clean for the chance to win an uncertain monetary reward than for a steady, predetermined payment, even though they get, on average, less money through the uncertain rewards).
u/Sforza · 1 pointr/NoFap

Two things come to mind that might make it more likely for someone to cheat:

  • Desensitized dopamine receptors (due to porn) in the brain looking for stimulation from other places because of their inability to get properly stimulated by time spent with the SO

  • In the book The Willpower Instinct there's a chapter on how people tend to let go of self-control even more after they've suffered a previous loss of self-control. I think it applies to this situation.

    I think the solution would be to remember that giving in to temptations usually doesn't bring happiness in the long run, and that it's actually the brain "tricking" the person into looking for new mates as an automatic evolutionary reaction of sorts.
u/hutuka · 1 pointr/pornfree

Here is her book The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works. You can also try it out on the cough ThePirateBay cough first.

She also has several other videos on Youtube. If you find this one a bit long, check out this 25 mins interview with her here Kelly McGonigal: The Willpower Instinct. Best of luck!

u/Gorilla_My_Dreams · 1 pointr/LifeProTips

There is an excellent book called The Willpower Instinct. It's a very scientific treatment of where our self control comes from, but it's blended quite well with personal experiences from people who took the course from the author. There are certain things you can do to improve your capacity for good decision making. The simplest ones to me were meditation and getting into nature for maybe ten minutes or so. You should really check it out.

u/dopadelic · 1 pointr/ADHD

Do you have any citations that show detrimental effects of carbs? My understanding is that the blood sugar crash that follows after eating a large simple carb meal is what leads to drowsiness and fatigue. Eating a moderate level of complex carbs should keep blood sugar level. According to The Willpower Instinct, feeding your brain with carbs is very helpful for exercising willpower. http://www.amazon.com/The-Willpower-Instinct-Self-Control-Matters/dp/1583334386

This study looked at different ratios of carb:protein on cognitive tasks and found a 1:1 ratio was optimal for performance. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11897269

u/rshawgo · 1 pointr/Fitness

Meditation. At least in theory, if you meditate, even for 5 minutes daily, it can really help with motivation and self control.

If you have some time, I recommend a book titled The Will Power Instinct. Very interesting read on why we do the things we do, and what we can do to avoid setbacks. Speaking of which, I guess I lost today, Cupcake won.

EDIT: Fixed link formatting.

u/The_Secret_Hater · 0 pointsr/TumblrInAction

Getting congratulations on making some bullshit resolution makes you less likely to follow through. Even telling people you're going to do it actually makes you less likely to follow through on it, not more.

People are idiots if they come to a board dedicated to hating on them and expect to be patted on the back for making the declaration that they're finally going to start behaving like a civilized human being. Come back when you've actually fucking done something.

You may be interested in this

u/desininja · -1 pointsr/progresspics

It's usually more like "Should I give this thing a try or not?"
You have to give effort when you refrain yourself from temptation and it's this effort that I am talking about.
Stanford has a course on willpower where they discuss this in detail (of course backed by research data). You can find more about this in the book The Willpower Instinct