Running head: THE BENEFITS OF WILLPOWER AND HOW TO INCREASE IT

The Benefits of Willpower and How to Increase It

Scott Balding
Salt Lake Community College

THE BENEFITS OF WILLPOWER AND HOW TO INCREASE IT

Willpower Defined
Willpower, as defined by the American Psychological Association, is:
The ability to delay gratification, resisting short-term temptations in order
to meet long-term goals. The capacity to override an unwanted thought,
feeling or impulse. The ability to employ a cool cognitive system of
behavior rather than a hot emotional system. Conscious, effortful
regulation of the self by the self. A limited resource capable of being
depleted. (What You Need to Know, n.d.)
From this definition, we can assume that everyone, to some extent or another
exercises willpower on a daily basis. We've all experienced having to put off small
pleasures for larger ones, and we've all had to control our internal impulses at one point.
Without willpower, we would not be able to complete necessary tasks such as going to
work, maintaining good hygiene, and following rules and laws. Despite us naturally
having sizable amounts of willpower, we often need a little extra push to really
experience a fulfilling life. People often say that their number one reason for not getting
things done is their lack of willpower. It is for this reason and reasons such as improved
health, fewer deaths, and better quality of life that I believe that a cultural shift towards
more willpower would carry many positive side-effects.
The Importance of Willpower
The amount of willpower an individual has may be connected to both how long
and how they die. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
approximately 900,000 Americans die from the first five leading causes of death with 20-

THE BENEFITS OF WILLPOWER AND HOW TO INCREASE IT

40% of those deaths being preventable. These sorts of deaths can also be avoided by
changing you day-to-day behavior in some way (Up to 40 percent, 2014). Ailments
such as heart disease, cancer, and accidental injury, though some things that can be
unavoidable, can be mitigated through better self-control. Activities such as eating a
healthier diet, exercising regularly, and remembering to buckle your seatbelt are simple,
yet effective ways of using willpower to your benefit.
Lack of willpower may also have an adverse affect on your waistline. Statistics
from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases report that
more than 2 out of 3 Americans in the United States are considered to be overweight or
obese. This has been a growing national trend since 1962 with 46% of the population
being overweight/obese to 75% in 2010 (Overweight and Obesity Statistics, 2012).
What's striking about this statistic is that it seems obesity is growing on a voluntary basis.
This rise of obesity may be explained by the fact that as more food options such as fast
food and dine-ins become available, lack of willpower causes some to make decisions
based on impulse rather than thought or care. Since we can't as a society ban fast food
restaurants, we should use willpower as a tool to empower people to make safe and
healthy decisions.
Increasing Willpower
The amount of willpower one has been proven to be dependent on both
physiological and psychological factors (Masicampo, Baumeister, 2008; Job, 2013;
Gollwitzer, 2014). Physiologically, it has been shown that willpower is dependent on the
amount of glucose found in the brain (Masicampo et al., 2008). In a study published by

THE BENEFITS OF WILLPOWER AND HOW TO INCREASE IT

Florida State University, researchers determined the effects of sugar intake on heuristicbased decision-making (i.e. Impulsive, automatic decisions) as well as rule-based
decision-making (i.e. Deliberate, effortful decisions). Participants in the study were given
one of two drinks: Lemonade sweetened with sugar and the other sweetened with
Splenda (A glucose-free sugar substitute). After given time to metabolize the lemonade,
the participants were given a task that tested whether they made heuristic or rule-based
decisions. The study found that those who were given lemonade without sugar made
fewer rule-based decisions than those who did (Masicampo et al., 2008).
While there appears to be a connection between sugar intake and self-control,
simply changing one's beliefs can achieve a greater yield of willpower. According to
researchers Veronika Job, Gregory Walton, Katharina Bernecker, and Carol Dweck in an
experiment about willpower, there are two types of beliefs when it comes to willpower.
They claim there is the limited resource theory of willpower and the nonlimited resource
theory. People who are under the limited resource theory believe that willpower is a
limited resource that can be used up and replenished. Those, however, who are under the
nonlimited resource theory believe that willpower isn't easily depleted and is actually
increased through strenuous activity (Job, Walton, Bernecker, Dweck, 2013). In their
experiment, the researchers tested whether these beliefs affected a patient's ability to
complete willpower-based tasks. The experiment showed that patients who believed in
the limited resource theory required glucose to replenish willpower, but those who
believed in the nonlimited resource theory did not.
Another way one can psychologically increase their willpower are through

THE BENEFITS OF WILLPOWER AND HOW TO INCREASE IT

implementation intentions (Gollwitzer, 2014). Implementation intentions, as explained
by Peter M. Gollwitzer, is the ...cool-minded act of planning out in advance how one
wants to deal with the critical problems of goal striving once they are actually
encountered. Implementation intentions use a sort of if-then planning (e.g. I want to
reach 'X' goal. If I encounter obstacle 'Y', then I will perform the response 'Z')
(Gollwitzer, 2014). In his analysis, Gollwitzer demonstrates that not only can
implementation intentions help one better achieve their goals, but also in it's ability to
stop willpower from dropping.
Though one may be able to increase their willpower through ingesting sugary
substances as they complete effortful tasks, it is less productive for an individual's overall
health (As too much sugar can contribute to diseases such as diabetes and obesity). Since
both future planning and altering one's beliefs in willpower can have the same impact as
glucose ingestion, these psychological methods may be more effective in combating lack
of willpower.
Using Willpower to Improve Your Life
Even if willpower is limited physiologically, the mere belief of it has the potential
to a self-fulfilling prophecy that actually decreases willpower (Miller, 2012). Educating
the public more about how willpower is increased may do more good than focusing on
how it is depleted simply because it will change the current paradigm on the subject.
Encouraging more people to use implementation intentions when facing challenges of
self-control will also help them in various personal goals (Gollwitzer, 2014).
These methods own may not be enough to reliably alter national obesity rate or

THE BENEFITS OF WILLPOWER AND HOW TO INCREASE IT

rate of preventable death, but it can be used to help an individual get started in acquiring
more willpower. Even using small, consistent goals can be a good way to start a trend of
change in one's life (Miller, 2003). If more people begin to take steps and use these
methods to improve their self-control, then it is likely that willpower-related ailments
such as diabetes and heart disease would decrease in the general population.
Conclusion
In a world where our options only grow and our health is declining, now more
than ever do we need to utilize the positive power of willpower. Though there is debate
on how much willpower is limited and how much is simply psychological, simply
changing your beliefs about it can be the first steps to changing your health, work,
relationships, and overall quality of life. Directing your willpower towards setting goals
and confronting obstacles is an excellent way of creating longlasting change in your life
(Miller, 2003). Despite there being no clear consensus on how to increase the willpower
of an entire population, individuals can use the methods provided to increase self-control
and use it to improve their lives.

THE BENEFITS OF WILLPOWER AND HOW TO INCREASE IT

References
Miller, E. M., Walton, G. M., Dweck, C. S., Job, V., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Mcclure, S.
M. (2012). Theories of Willpower Affect Sustained Learning. PLoS ONE, 7(6).
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0038680
Job, V., Walton, G. M., Bernecker, K., & Dweck, C. S. (2013). Beliefs about willpower
determine the impact of glucose on self-control. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, 110(37), 14837-14842. doi:10.1073/pnas.1313475110
Up to 40 percent of annual deaths from each of five leading US causes are preventable.
(2014, May 1). Retrieved March 30, 2016, from
http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0501-preventable-deaths.html
What You Need to Know about Willpower: The Psychological Science of Self-Control.
(n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2016, from
http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/willpower.aspx
Miller, M. C., M.D. (2003, January 20). A Little More Willpower Can Change Your
Life. Newsweek, 141(3).
Overweight and Obesity Statistics. (2012, October). Retrieved April 2, 2016, from
http://www.niddk.nih.gov/healthinformation/healthstatistics/Pages/
overweightobesity-statistics.aspx
Masicampo, E. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (2008). Toward a Physiology of Dual-Process

THE BENEFITS OF WILLPOWER AND HOW TO INCREASE IT

Reasoning and Judgement. Association for Psychological Science, 19(3), 255259. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
Gollwitzer, P. M. (2014). Weakness of the Will: Is a quick fix possible. Springer Science
and Business Media. Retrieved April 22, 2016.