Believing that willpower is abundant leads to having more of it

Historically, the theory of ego depletion (that our willpower is a limited resource fueled by glucose) was dominant. This has been challenged.

Eyal – Indistractable asserts that ego depletion theory (as posited by Baumeister, 2011) isn't true (citing research by Dweck, 2013) -> Implying that we can have theoretically unlimited willpower unless we believe it's a limited resource.

Dweck's research indeed demonstrated that believing that willpower is abundant meant that participants didn't benefit from consuming extra sugar to have more willpower. The belief itself was enough.

The implication for personal productivity is that we can should build this belief that willpower is abundant. It will help us accomplish our goals and tasks without quitting or getting distracted when we could persist.

Tags: personal productivity

ID: 2021-0311-0819

References:

• Eyal – Indistractable, ch. 8
• Glucose and willpower: Veronika Job, Gregory M. Walton, Katharina Bernecker, Carol S. Dweck; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Aug 2013