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

The first book to describe the emerging science of self-control and how to use it to increase productivity, pleasure, and health.

Health psychologist Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., saw her students struggle with decisions for years before realizing that a lot of the myths surrounding willpower were actually impeding their achievement. Dedicated to disseminating the knowledge that the scientific community already had on self-control, McGonigal developed a course for Stanford University's Continuing Studies Program titled "The Science of Willpower". The wildly popular Psychology Today blog of the same name was born out of the course, which became an immediate smash.

McGonigal's book explains precisely what willpower is, how it functions, and why it matters. It does so by merging cutting-edge concepts from psychology, economics, neurology, and medicine with the most recent research. Readers will discover:

Willpower isn't a quality; it's a mind-body reaction. It's a biological function that can be enhanced by sleep, exercise, healthy eating, and mindfulness. Better attention, emotion, and behavior managers also tend to be healthier, happier, and have more fulfilling relationships in addition to earning more money. One's willpower is a finite resource. In fact, having too much self-control might be detrimental to your health. Stress and temptation take over the brain's self-control mechanisms, yet willpower is a skill that can be learned.

The Willpower Instinct, in the ground-breaking tradition of Getting Things Done, offers readers exercises to go along with life-altering prescriptive advice to help them achieve everything from healthier living to more patient parenting, increased productivity at work to finally finishing the basement.