Why Willpower Alone is Not Enough to Change Habits and Lifestyle

Ever wonder why almost everybody that makes a New Year’s resolution ends up giving up by mid-February? You know you’ve done it; joined the gym, got on that diet, tried to quit smoking, etc. You come out of the gate strong for the first few weeks, if you’re lucky, you may have even gone a couple of months. Then, BAM! You fall off the train and go right back to your old ways. When looking to change your lifestyle and habits, be it dieting, exercising, meditating, or changing any other habit that may not be serving you, you cannot rely on willpower alone.

If you are presented with a “diet” program, for example, that relies on your willpower alone for success, don’t fall victim. It may help you take off those initial pounds, but in the end, there is a 98% chance, you will fall off and put all those pounds back on again. Why? Because it is so much more than nutrition that’s keeping the weight on, or the lack of motivation to exercise, or that need for that after dinner smoke. Willpower, alone, will not get you there. This article explains why!

What is Willpower

By definition, willpower is the control exerted to do something or restrain impulses. Most of us believe that we have all the willpower we need within, that we can just tap into it at any time. When we don’t deliver enough willpower to change the habit or do the thing we set out to do, we beat up on ourselves. Maybe even think we aren’t strong enough to see it through. We tell ourselves, we just don’t have enough willpower. You also may believe that some people have more in their willpower tank than others and that it is only used for resisting the many temptations that are presented to us each day, such as eating an ice cream sundae.

Other Areas

Willpower actually is used for other areas such as focusing, balancing our emotions, and probably its most important task is helping us to make choices. When we are spending a lot of time using it to resist desires and cravings, we eventually tap out of it. It has been proven that we have a daily allowance of how much willpower is in our tank. In 1998, it was discovered that willpower could actually be measured, and we humans only have about 15 minutes of it at one time, before we need to “reload”. A professor of psychology at Florida State had done extensive research in the area of willpower and it had been discovered that we, in fact, run out. Once it is depleted, we make poor choices. (1)

You can probably relate to this when you have had a rough day at work, then you pick up the kids, maybe bring them to an extracurricular, now you have to make a dinner decision. You decide on the fast-food drive-thru because your willpower is shot. Or, maybe you do great with your diet all day long until you get to evening time. After dinner when things quiet down and you know that you just can’t make ONE MORE DECISION, so it’s the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream for the win because well, your willpower is gone and there will be no more resisting temptation today!

Our Brain’s Relationship to Willpower

Here’s the thing. Our brain’s fuel is glucose. When our glucose level drops way down, we literally cannot make sound decisions. The area of the cortex slows to a complete crawl when our glucose levels are depleted. This area of the brain is responsible for our conscious decision-making. When it is glucose deprived, never mind willpower, we may not even be rational. So when you are using deprivation as your means of let’s say, losing weight, then not only are you depleting your willpower throughout the day, but you are also causing your blood sugar to tank. Conversely, when you eat a diet high in sugar, white flour, carbs, and processed foods, you are causing a blood sugar roller coaster with very high peaks and very low dips. This can result in poor decision-making, as well as increased cravings.

What Are We Wasting Our Willpower On and How Do We Refill it?

As I mentioned, willpower runs out, and every decision you make each day uses some of it up. Imagine how many decisions you make each day. Just the simple task of checking emails or Facebook use it up. Do you open the email? Read it? Delete it? Save it? Forward it? Answer it? So many options.

Another factor in the loss of willpower is stress. The more stress we are under, the more focus we require, and the more willpower that gets used up. Stress management is an important part of our health and wellness regimen and filling our willpower tank is no exception.

Willpower can be reset. We must remember to stop and fill our tanks back up. What fills it up? Balancing your glucose (blood sugar) will help the brain reset and fill the willpower tank. Things like meditation or prayer are also good practices. Getting enough rest at night is another major factor. We need healthy social connections. Being grateful for the positives, and even the negatives, will help as well.

So, to summarize, when it is time to conjure up willpower, keep in mind that you have a limit, from which to pull it from. Willpower is wired in the brain. And, when you add in all the everyday stressors and demands that we have in today’s world, you can use that up quite quickly. This can leave you stripped of willpower when you need it most, and vulnerable to making bad choices.