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Introduction.....……………………….….…3
Categories of Willpower…..……….….…24
It was the first time I discovered that willpower was more than a
metaphor. I learned the real science behind what willpower actually
is, how it works, and how it can be strengthened.
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This book will teach you about willpower in
practical and understandable terms.
I hope this eBook will shed some light on your current beliefs
about willpower and inspire you to take a big step on your
journey to accomplishing whatever goals you wish to achieve.
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CHAPTER 1:
The Power of Will
The year was 1970 and psychologists Walter Mischel and Ebbe B.
Ebbesen invited a group of 4-year olds into a laboratory for what
was surely the toughest test of their short lives.
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They conducted the same study with 6 year-olds and found that
they were indeed more successful in delaying gratification than
the 4 year-olds.
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Know Thy Will
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1. IQ
2. School rating
3. Level of education
4. Standardized test scores
5. Family income
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CHAPTER 2:
What Exactly is Willpower?
The students entered the laboratory and they could only think about
one thing.
They were all instructed to skip their previous meal so that they were
assured of being hungry. So when they sat down at an empty table
in the lab, their stomachs started growling.
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Know Thy Will
“I know you are all hungry. So we are going to offer you all a little
snack. But there’s a catch.
I am going to set two plates of food down on the table. You are
only allowed to eat the food off of the plate on your side of the
table.
You are not allowed to eat any of the other side’s food.”
One of the plates contained the warm, freshly baked, cookies that
they smelled since entering the laboratory. The other contained
cold, raw, radishes.
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Know Thy Will
After 15 minutes, the students were led into another room to work on
a geometry puzzle. They thought that the puzzle was testing their
math skills, but it was actually impossible.
The real test was to see how long the students would keep
working before giving up.
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Know Thy Will
The radish eaters, on the other hand, didn’t even last half as
long! After just 8 minutes, they lost the energy to keep trying
and gave up.
20 minutes 8 minutes
So what happened here? Why did the radish eaters give up
so much faster than the cookie eaters?
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Know Thy Will
This explains why you can feel too exhausted after a long day of
work to hit the gym! Even though your body hasn’t moved from
your desk, your willpower has been used up by a stressful day of
work.
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CHAPTER 3:
How We Developed Willpower
You are completely on your own and you must do whatever you
can to secure food, find a mate, and stay safe from predators.
All of your thoughts, all of your focus, all of your creativity are
now fixated on simply securing these 3 things in order to survive.
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We were perpetually weak, starving, and did not know where our
next meal would be coming from. So we had to save our physical
and mental energy until we saw clues of other animals or humans
around.
To ensure that we did not waste any valuable energy, our brains
began sending messages to the body to shut down – even if we
were not tired.
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Know Thy Will
These desires
made up the
development of
what is known as
the limbic system.
It is what I will refer to throughout this book as the “primitive brain”.
Over millions of years, these motivating forces are what ensured the
survival of our species.
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Know Thy Will
Our brains, which had once been evolved to solely act on our
personal needs and desires, now had to think about the wellbeing
of others.
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All of the sudden, acting solely on our own survival instincts could
lead to trouble. So now we had to question the consequences of
our actions to see if they may hurt us in the long run.
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Know Thy Will
So, even today, the brain will naturally place our primary functions
higher on the priority list than self-control. This means that we are
still doomed to struggle with the desires of the brain that
formed millions of years ago.
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In order to hold ourselves back from doing things that would exile us
from the tribe, our pre-frontal cortex developed to be the "final
decider" of our actions.
This means that even when we are the most tired, the most tempted,
and the most likely to give in to short-term temptations, we always
have the ability to choose our ultimate actions.
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CHAPTER 4:
Categories of Willpower
If you were to ask 10 people what they use their willpower for you
would get 10 different answers.
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Know Thy Will
WILL Power
The first is will power. This is the willpower the students used
to persevere on the puzzle.
Any time our natural inclination is to stop, rest, or give up, but
we make the conscious decision to take action, we are
exerting this form of willpower.
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Know Thy Will
WON’T Power
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Know Thy Will
WANT Power
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Know Thy Will
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Know Thy Will
For example, let’s look at two men who are successful executives.
One man is happily married and the other is single.
However, the happily married man will have a much easier time
saying “no” to the temptation because he has a commitment to a
greater purpose – his marriage, his family, his love – than the single
man who does not have those things.
The married man will use his want power to resist the temptation
because the prospect of sex is not nearly as valuable to him as his
family.
Whereas the single man, who doesn’t have nearly as much to lose,
will have a harder time resisting the temptation by using his won’t
power.
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Know Thy Will
In all of these cases, people are still exerting their willpower, but it is
far less than they would without a higher purpose.
This task is much simpler than you may think. You do not need to
have an inspiring purpose, a meaningful job, or a motivational
speaker “pump you up”. A simple change in perspective is all it
takes.
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CHAPTER 5:
Maximizing Your WANT Power
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Know Thy Will
Joe was about to declare defeat and take his spot on the “Did Not
Finish” list. After all, what did he have left to prove? He already
finished the Ironman Triathlon 20 times before this! What would it
matter if he finished it a 21st time?
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You want to become more fit, so you “have to” go to the gym 3
times per week. Then when your friends invite you out after work,
you politely decline claiming that you “have to” go to the gym.
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Know Thy Will
When you view this plan as an obligation that you “have to” follow,
your brain will begin to motivate you to skip it – especially when you
are low on willpower. It wants to take the easy way out, so it will
come up with excuses to take a break today and resume your plan
tomorrow.
Try this simple technique the next time you feel like you “have to”
do something to achieve a long-term goal. This will shift your brain
from using will power to using want power.
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Know Thy Will
Then they were to bring back the same Hershey’s Kisses the next
day to prove that they resisted the temptation (the researchers
marked the Kisses to ensure that nobody cheated by bringing in
different ones).
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Know Thy Will
Success Rate
39% 62%
“I Can’t” “I Don’t”
The next day, only 39% of those who said, “I can’t eat chocolate”
were able to resist the temptation. Meanwhile, 62% of those who
said “I don’t eat chocolate” were able stay strong!
As with “get to” and “have to”, saying, “I don’t” rather than “I can’t”
shifts your perspective.
Think about what you’re really saying when you use, “I can’t”.
You’re saying that you would eat the chocolate, but there is some
outside reason that is preventing you from indulging.
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Know Thy Will
Conclusion
You will have more willpower to commit to your goals if you “get to”
do it, rather than “have to” do it.
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Thanks for Reading!
If you have any questions about Know Thy Will,
you can email me at colin@willpowered.co