Strong Will Is Like a Muscle. How to Practice It?

Have a cake and eat it too? A few words about gratification

Each of us feels an inner impulse to act every day, aimed at satisfying a variety of needs. These can be simple physiological needs, such as getting food, but also more complex ones, such as the desire to understand how an airplane stays in the air. Such an impulse that drives us to act is called motivation. But what if you find it difficult to stay on a steady course toward your goal?

What often gives us motivation to act is a reward. We willingly take on tasks when we know that gratification will follow immediately. For example, when you are in a hurry to catch a tram, running a few dozen metres to make it in time is easier because the reward – the fact that you’ve made it – appears almost immediately. It is different when you want to run to improve your health – then you have to persistently continue training, and the reward is delayed.

Many studies show that people who are able to persevere toward a goal without stopping their efforts despite delayed reward – such as continuing to train, study or learn new skills – achieve more success in life. Examples include talented athletes who, in order to win medals, had to devote many hours to training and put enormous effort into their athletic development. So what is the difference between those who expect instant gratification and those who can patiently wait for it?

To understand this difference, it is worth recalling the famous study by Walter Mischel and his colleagues, known as the “marshmallow experiment”. Participants included children between the ages of 3 and 5. Each child sat at a table with a sweet marshmallow or other treat on it. The children could eat the marshmallow immediately or wait for the researcher to return, who – in exchange for showing patience – would give them two marshmallows. The researchers observed that many children who wanted a bigger prize used different strategies to resist temptation. Some covered their eyes, looked away from the marshmallow or engaged in distracting activities such as singing. Others quickly succumbed to temptation and ate the marshmallow.

Later studies showed a correlation between the ability to delay gratification at a young age and positive outcomes in later life, such as in the areas of learning or dealing with stress. Research by Walter Mischel showed that strong-willed people often use strategies such as distraction or changing their surroundings to avoid temptation.

So instead of relying solely on willpower, you can arrange your environment in a way that is conducive to achieving your goals. For example, you can avoid storing unhealthy snacks at home or turn off notifications on your phone while working. The findings suggest that willpower can be bolstered by appropriate environmental changes or cognitive strategies that reduce temptation and facilitate persistent goal pursuit.

Can strong will get tired?

A very interesting study on self-control was conducted by Roy Baumeister and his colleagues. His “ego depletion theory” suggests that human willpower is fuelled from a limited pool of energy. Research supporting this argument was conducted in four phases – one of which involved resisting temptation. The participants’ task was to refrain from eating snacks. They were presented with two types of snacks: freshly baked cookies, which the researchers said were a very tempting option, and radishes, which were considered less tasty than cookies. The participants were divided into three groups:

• the “radishes” group, who were instructed to eat only radishes,
• the “cookies” group, who were allowed to eat cookies,
• a control group that was not given any food.

Next, the participants had to solve puzzles that were structured in such a way that solving them was impossible. The task was meant to test their perseverance, a measure of self-control. Those tasked with resisting the cookies gave up on the puzzle faster than participants in the other groups. The researchers found that the self-control involved in resisting eating cookies depleted their willpower, leaving them with less mental energy for subsequent tasks.

This is a very interesting concept, suggesting that prolonged refraining from an activity we feel like doing leads to a loss of energy resources, which consequently weakens our ability to persevere. However, there is no certainty about the legitimacy of this conclusion – in attempts to replicate this research by scientists who studied a different group of people, the effect of ego depletion was not observed.

How to exercise the strong-will muscle?

How can you support your own ability to self-control? Research suggests several effective strategies:

1. Strengthening the prefrontal cortex. Impulsiveness can contribute to the abandonment of long-term plans and at the same time weaken our willpower. For example, while walking, you may notice a beautiful jacket on display (which you don’t need at all) and feel a sudden urge to spend your savings on buying it. In such a situation, the brain’s expanded prefrontal cortex can be helpful in understanding and anticipating the consequences of our actions, supporting us in saying “no” in the face of sudden temptations. Solving puzzles, reading or practicing concentration stimulates this part of the brain.
2. Taking care of adequate blood glucose levels. Research suggests that glucose levels in the body play an important role in supporting self-control. It turns out that tasks that require self-control can lower glucose levels in the brain. Supplementing it through food or drink can give you energy and help renew willpower. Long-term improvement in self-control may also result from improvement in the body’s ability to regulate glucose levels (e.g. through diet and regular physical activity).
3. Implementing simple plans. In exercising willpower and self-control, it is important to set clear goals. When you encounter difficulties in implementing them – such as postponing tasks, getting distracted or developing unsupportive habits – you can refer to previous arrangements. It is worth creating simple plans based on the principle of “if-then”. For example: “If I feel the urge to procrastinate, I will start doing the task right away and hang in for at least five minutes”. This technique, developed by Peter Gollwitzer, helps “automate” reactions to frequent temptations, reducing the burden of decision-making and saving willpower for new challenges.
4. Practicing meditation. Mindfulness meditation is a scientifically proven way to develop self-control by improving emotional regulation and concentration. A study published in 2012 by Michael Inzlicht showed that people who practice mindfulness meditation are better at controlling impulsive actions. This is mainly because regular meditation strengthens the prefrontal cortex.

Many of our ambitions and goals in life require long-term and consistent effort and enormous energy resources. Each of us has probably heard or uttered these words more than once: “I lack strong willpower”. However, let’s remember that regardless of our inclinations resulting from character traits, each of us has the potential to support ourselves more effectively in achieving our goals. Research shows that there are many ways to “overcome” the weakness of our willpower.

_References:

1. _{Mischel W., et al., Delay of gratification in children, Science, 1989.}
2. _{Baumeister R. F., et al, Ego depletion: Is the active self a limited resource?, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1989.}
3. _{Gailliot M. T., Baumeister R. F., The physiology of willpower: Linking blood glucose to self-control, Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2007.}
4. _{Muraven M., et al, Self-control as limited resource: Regulatory depletion patterns, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1998.}
5. _{Gollwitzer P. M., Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans, American Psychologist, 1999.}
6. _{Friese, M., et al, Mindfulness meditation counteracts self-control depletion, Consciousness and Cognition, 2012.}