The Psychology of Willpower: How to Train, Deplete, and Restore Your Willpower Muscle

Creator, Unchained Goals Framework

September 11, 2023

5 min read

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To achieve meaningful long-term goals, it is normally best to circumvent willpower by using other tools including making your actions become habits to avoid depleting your willpower. However, there are times that you will need to use your willpower to either convert the behaviour into a habit or get through a rough patch. This makes willpower a critical key to achieving your goals. Willpower is the ability to resist temptations, overcome obstacles, and persist in the face of challenges. But how does willpower work? And how can you use it effectively for lasting change? In this blog post, I will explain the psychology of willpower, how it works like a muscle that can be trained, depleted, and restored, and how to use it wisely for optimal results.

How Willpower Works Like a Muscle

Previous Dr Mischel’s marshmallows test seemed to suggest that willpower was a fixed trait. However further researches, have proved that Willpower is not a fixed trait that you either have or don’t have. It is a dynamic resource that varies depending on the situation, the task, and the person. According to the strength model of willpower, proposed by Roy Baumeister and his colleagues, willpower works like a muscle that has limited capacity and can be strengthened or weakened by various factors. Like a muscle, willpower can be trained. By regularly exercising your willpower in small ways, such as resisting a cookie, sticking to a routine, or completing a difficult task, you can increase your willpower capacity over time. You can also strengthen your willpower by using handgrips and also using your non-dominant hand to write. These are activities known to strengthen willpower. This means that you will be able to resist bigger temptations, overcome harder obstacles, and persist longer in the face of challenges. Like a muscle, willpower can also be depleted. By exerting your willpower in one domain, such as dieting, studying, or working, you reduce your willpower capacity in other domains, such as exercising, socializing, or relaxing. This means that you will be more likely to succumb to temptations, give up on goals, or lose focus after using your willpower for a while. Like a muscle, willpower can also be restored. By replenishing your willpower with food(glucose), or positive emotions, you can recover your willpower capacity and perform better on subsequent tasks. This means that you can boost your willpower by taking breaks, eating healthy snacks, or engaging in activities that make you happy. Research has also proven that your beliefs about willpower has an influence on whether it is depleted or not. That is, if your belief is that willpower cannot be depleted then you are less likely to deplete your willpower. It has also been proven that a strong ‘why’ can negate willpower depletion influences.

How to Use Willpower Wisely

Knowing how willpower works like a muscle can help you use it more effectively for achieving your goals. Willpower involves making decisions. Therefore, the less decisions you make, the less your willpower will be depleted. Also planning ahead will mean you can be prepared to reduce the potential of using your willpower unwisely. Here are some tips on how to use your willpower wisely:

Plan ahead

Anticipate the situations that might require your willpower and prepare for them in advance. For example, if you want to eat healthier, stock your fridge with healthy nutritious foods to avoid buying junk food when you are very hungry. If you want to study more, set a schedule and remove distractions from your environment.

Prioritize

Focus on the most important and difficult tasks first when your willpower is high and save the easier and less important tasks for later when your willpower is low. For example, if you want to write a book, write in the morning when you are fresh and motivated and do other chores in the afternoon when you are tired and bored.

Automate

Turn your desired behaviors into habits that require little or no conscious effort. For example, if you want to exercise regularly, make it a part of your daily routine and stick to it until it becomes automatic. If you want to save money, set up a direct debit from your account to your savings account every month.

Delegate

Outsource or eliminate the tasks that drain your willpower unnecessarily. For example, if you want to focus on your work, hire someone to do your household chores or use an app to block distracting websites. If you want to quit smoking, ask someone to hold you accountable or use nicotine patches or gum.

Reward

Reinforce your positive behaviors with incentives that motivate you and make you feel good. For example, if you want to read more books, treat yourself to a new book or a movie after finishing one. If you want to lose weight, reward yourself with a new outfit or a spa day after reaching a milestone.

Conclusion

Willpower is a powerful tool that can help you change your behavior and achieve your goals. By understanding the psychology of willpower and how it works like a muscle that can be trained, depleted, and restored, you can use it more effectively for lasting change. I hope this blog post has helped you do that. If you want to learn more about how to master your willpower and break free from your limiting beliefs, check out my new book Unchained and also use the resources on unchainedforsuccess.com.

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CEng FICE | Author | Creator of the Unchained Goals Framework

With over 20 years delivering major infrastructure programmes including Crossrail, Hinkley Point C, and HS2, Clement developed the Unchained Goals Framework to bridge the gap between ambition and consistent execution.

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