The key ideas

The Willpower Instinct

Kelly McGonigal, 2011

Why does a trip to the gym make dessert so tempting, and why does one lapse make you want to abandon an entire diet? A Stanford psychologist gathered research on self-control into a practical book. Here are her central ideas and an honest account of which parts of the science of willpower later became shaky.

Who it is for

For anyone who puts off important things, struggles to stick to plans, and wants to understand self-control, and anyone who likes to know which psychological findings have survived further testing.

If you think strengthening willpower requires being harder on yourself, you are not alone. But you are wrong. All the research shows that self-criticism consistently reduces interest in the task and worsens self-control.

What the book is about

Some students are asked to remember a seven-digit phone number, others a two-digit number. Each is then offered a treat: chocolate cake or fruit. Who is more likely to take the cake? In a study the author cites, those whose minds are occupied by the longer number do so noticeably more often. Why this happens will become clear in the first idea.

Kelly McGonigal, a Stanford health psychologist, taught an adult education course called “The Science of Willpower” for many years. This book grew from it: research on self-control and small experiments readers conduct on themselves.

An honest qualification from the start. The book appeared in 2011, and some of the science supporting it later became shaky. Exactly where will be stated openly.

Idea 1. Three powers and two selves

McGonigal explains the cake study this way: self-control needs attention. While the brain is busy holding a number, immediate desires more often make the decision rather than long-term goals.

The author describes willpower as three powers. “I will” helps you do difficult, boring things. “I won’t” holds you back from temptation. “I want” reminds you what you truly want over the long term. She pictures inner conflict as an argument between two selves: one wants everything now, the other remembers the goal. This is the author’s image rather than an anatomical diagram.

The first step in her system is the ability to notice the moment of choice, before making an effort.

In the evening after a hard day, you open the refrigerator “just to look” and only realize you are already eating when the packet is half empty.

A lapse may begin earlier than you think: when a choice passes unnoticed. That is why the author sees attention as the first exercise in willpower, with prohibitions coming afterward.

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About the author

Kelly McGonigal is a health psychologist and Stanford University teacher. The book grew from her adult education course “The Science of Willpower.” Its Russian edition was published by Mann, Ivanov and Ferber in 2013.

All books by this author: Kelly McGonigal

Terms from the book

  • Self-compassion
  • Ego depletion
  • Heart rate variability
  • Pause and plan: The author’s term for a response opposite to fight or flight: during an internal conflict, the body may slow down and create a pause for choosing. An image from the book rather than a generally accepted medical category.
  • Moral licensing: The tendency to permit yourself something “bad” after doing something “good.” Later tests suggested the effect may be weaker than previously thought.
  • What-the-hell effect: A cycle in which a small lapse and frustration with yourself may lead to a bigger lapse. Psychologists Polivy and Herman gave it this name.

All terms

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