Willpower instinct

The willpower instinct by Kelly McGonial is a book for anyone looking to better their self-control. Throughout the book Kelly explains ways to take control of your own willpower and why we do the impulsive things we do sometimes. She is very vivid with her examples, and self-questions she has throughout the book. Through her explanations of will power she explains why temptations sometimes gets the best of us. Throughout the book there were many experiments to help better your self-control. It is a very helpful book that helps take control of you willpower.

The first chapter of the book is the – I will, I won’t, I want, what willpower is and why it matters. This was a key chapter in the book because it fully explains all the categories of will power and what each one is. The I will and I won’t are the two key important sides of self-control. Your I will power is what motivates you. So for example if you have a goal there are things you need to do to achieve it so you have to be willing to do these things to achieve that goal. Having that I want willpower will keep you on track. The I won’t willpower is what will help you keep away from temptations that can steer you away from your goal. The I want part of your will power is that long term goal you are hoping for.  Every time you want something all three are essential for you to achieve it. In this chapter she explains how you can train your mind to keep your willpower strong, and also gave a very good experiment to notice every decision you make throughout a day and relate it to your own personal willpower challenge.

The second chapter of the book is your body was born to resist cheesecake. I found that in this chapter I could relate to it so much. She starts off by talking about cravings how you know you want something but you just cannot have it because of that goal you set for yourself. For example if you are on a diet and are offered sweets you know you want it, but you also know you should not have it. Your brain and your body are trying to have self-control and they just keep going back and forth with each other. Your brain wants you to say yes right away, but this is when you have to implement your self-control. You have to pause and plan what is the right decision, it is an internal battle with yourself. When you are feeling like you have this inner battle going on in the experiment she gave she gives you many exercises that can be done so you can boost your self-control. Things like just stepping outside for fresh air or listening to your favorite song.

The forth chapter is license to sin why being good gives us permission to be bad, this was a chapter that I could relate to so much. This chapter explains when you are feel like you are doing something good it gives you the permission to do something bad, because you understand that since you have been doing well for such a long time or even for a short amount of time you can reward yourself. She gives an example that when a shopper does not buy anything they are more likely to go home and eat something that is tempting. The shopper is rewarding themselves for their good behavior of not giving in. I feel like so many people do this including me. For example if I am trying to eat better and work out and I have a week that I do good, and maybe I see a chocolate bar I will feel like I deserve the chocolate bar because I have been staying on track. Being good gives us an impulse to lose our self-control and give in to bad things.  

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone struggling with self-control. It is a very helpful and interesting book.  She gives so many examples that you can relate too, and experiments so you can better your self-control. This book has helped me in my personal life because self-control sometimes is something very difficult to manage. There was not anything I did not like about this book, she kept it very interactive and interesting it was a very good read.