What's Willpower?

by Angela Reed-Fox

Willpower is one of those things we never feel we have enough of, right? So much of health is due to our own lifestyle decisions that willpower or self-control is one of those things that can have the largest impact on our health and how we feel about ourselves. Willpower is one of the tools we use to avoid activities that will harm us (smoking) and do more of those that will benefit us (physical activity).  

We use ‘willpower’ when we control our thoughts, when the rational part of our brain overcomes the impulsive side of our brain in order to make short-term decisions to achieve longer-term goals. (Click here for a little bit more on willpower anatomy.)This power is useful in all areas of life – which is why when you come across someone who’s ‘cracked it’ in one area, they’re probably rocking in other areas too, such as in their relationships, their career, their general health and well-being, as well as their ability to deal with stress and adversity  

According to the American Psychological Association, willpower is a commodity that can be depleted too. So it’s not just that some people have more of it than others – it's more that sometimes you’ll have more and sometimes you’ll have less. So actually, we have two issues: 

• How do we get more willpower? 
• How do we get by when we don’t have enough willpower? 

These are two questions we’ll be dealing with during this course.  

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