Personal Development Answers

I received this article from Michael Lovitch of the Hypnosis Network and thought it was very pertinent to share it with you. 

Many people make New Year’s resolutions and ‘beat themselves up’ when they don’t succeed, or get ridiculed by others who say: “Yeah, yeah, like you tried last year….”

“Will Power is not a “Character” Issue

Most of us assume that a lack of will power is a personality defect, and that if we had a better constitution we would meet our resolutions (stop overeating, stop drinking too much, quit smoking, get more done, create and follow a budget, etc…)

But the research is now clear that our brains simply aren’t designed for willpower – because willpower is a limited resource.

A series of experiments has clearly demonstrated that the part of the brain responsible for self control, the prefrontal cortex, simply can’t maintain the act of self control for an extended period of time.

Baba Shiv, a marketing Professor at Stanford University, conducted a really interesting experiment that I think really drives the point home:

Cake or Salad?

Baba Shiv’s team assembled two groups. Group One was tasked with remembering a two digit number and Group Two was tasked with remembering a seven digit number (obviously a more difficult task).

Each subject was then led into another room and given the choice of having either a slice of chocolate cake or a bowl of fruit salad.

Here is the crazy part: The seven digit group members were twice as likely to eat the cake than the two digit group!!!

The extra five digits that Group Two had to remember overloaded the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for self control, making them choose the fattening cake over the healthier fruit.

Another study performed by Dr. Mark Muraven, a Professor at the University of Albany, demonstrates this effect once again.

Drinking, Driving, and Self Control

Muraven asked subjects to “not” think about a white elephant for five minutes while writing down their thoughts (this is actually pretty hard to do). A control group just did some simple math problems.

He then had the two groups do a beer taste test – but he had warned them that their next task would involve driving!

True to the theory, the white elephant group drank significantly more beer than the control group. The mental task simply ate up their capacity for self control.

The point is that – 88% of Resolutions Fail Because Self Control Takes Energy

These are simple tests, but think about it: You go through a lot more stress and multi-tasking than any of these experiments can replicate.

So are we doomed?

Well, no we aren’t.

How to Keep a Resolution…

First, if you are going to choose a resolution or a goal, just choose one!!!

Don’t try to lose weight, stop smoking, or quit biting your nails all at once.

Since inhibition takes up energy, focus on one thing at a time.

The second piece of advice has something to do with the work of Walter Mischel at Columbia University.

Mischel’s studies have shown that people who can delay gratification don’t necessarily have more will power, but instead think of better ways to get tempting thoughts out of their minds!

So, the second piece of advice is to learn how to get creative and manage your attention.

Instead of “not thinking” about the temptation – either distract yourself or think about it in another way.”

So, there you are, all this time you thought there was something wrong with your lack of self-control.  Now you know it’s not, and you know what to do.