Eat Your Way to Willpower...Sort Of

Ever heard of glucose? Maybe in connection with diabetics? Well, as it turns out it's not just important for them, but for all of us. So what exactly is it? According to the authors of Willpower, Roy Baumeister and John Tierney it is "...the simple sugar manufactured in the body from all kinds of foods, not just sweet ones." (p. 44) And as research has recently shown, it's vital to practicing self-control. Here are a few things you should keep in mind if you want to make sure you have enough glucose in your organism:

1) Feed the beast.
Meaning the potential demon inside you because of glucose depletion. Have a good breakfast, especially on days that you're stressed. Don't argue with your boss several hours after having had lunch. And I especially liked the authors' last example: "When you're on a romantic trip across Europe, don't drive into a walled medieval town at seven p.m. and try to navigate to your hotel on an empty stomach. Your car can probably survive the cobblestone maze, but your relationship might not." (p. 57) Nicely put.

One Step At A Time...

There are some things in life that take time; developing and improving your willpower is one of them. Most of us have at least one bad habit we would like to get rid of, but we keep making the same bad decisions, showing a lack of self-control and willpower. Why does this happen? There are probably several reasons, but let's start today's post with something called "ego depletion". Here's how John Tierney, one of the authors of Willpower. Why Self-Control is the Secret to Success describes it:

"Thus was born 'ego depletion,' Baumeister's term for describing people's diminished capacity to regulate their thoughts, feelings, and actions. People can sometimes overcome mental fatigue, but Baumeister found that if they had used up energy by exerting willpower (or by making decisions, another form of ego depletion that we'll discuss later), they would eventually succumb." (p. 28)

Uncovering The Secret To Success

That's what we'll be doing in the next few weeks, where we will be taking a closer look at a book entitled Willpower. Why Self-Control is the Secret to Success by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney, a psychologist and a science writer who have teamed up to show the importance of self-control in all of our lives. Their subtitle is a pretty bold proposition to make, but the authors are not ashamed to state their case right in the introduction to their book. According to them, psychologists all over the world

Failure Is Not The End...

...In fact it can be the beginning of success if you react to it correctly. At least that's what Tim Harford would have you believe, author of the book Adapt. Why Success Always Starts With Failure. It is mainly written from an economic point of view and talks about helping the poor, climate change and financial crises. But in the very last chapter, Harford applies it all to you and me. And he basically identifies three possible (and negative) reactions to failure: denial, loss-chasing and hedonic editing. Here's what they each mean in a nutshell: