According to most psychological scientists, willpower can be defined as: But psychologists characterize willpower, or self-control, in more specific ways. We have many common names for willpower: determination, drive, resolve, self-discipline, self-control. Such findings underscore the importance of willpower in nearly all areas of life. Those patterns held even after the researchers controlled for the children’s socioeconomic status, home lives, and general intelligence. Moffitt and her colleagues found that individuals with high self-control in childhood (as reported by teachers, parents and the children themselves) grew into adults with greater physical and mental health, fewer substance-abuse problems and criminal convictions, and better savings behavior and financial security. Terrie Moffitt, PhD, of Duke University, and colleagues studied self-control in a group of 1,000 individuals who were tracked from birth to age 32 as part of a long-term health study in Dunedin, New Zealand. The benefits of willpower seem to extend well beyond the college years. They found the students’ self-control scores correlated with higher grade-point averages, higher self-esteem, less binge eating and alcohol abuse, and better relationship skills. The scientists also created a scale to score the student’s relative willpower strength. June Tangney, PhD, of George Mason University, and colleagues compared willpower by asking undergraduate students to complete questionnaires designed to measure their self-control. Other studies have uncovered similar patterns. Self-discipline, the researchers found, was more important than IQ in predicting academic success. They found students who ranked high on self-discipline had better grades, better school attendance, and higher standardized-test scores, and were more likely to be admitted to a competitive high school program. They also gave students a task in which they had the option of receiving $1 immediately or waiting a week to receive $2. The researchers first gauged the students’ self-discipline (their term for self-control) by having teachers, parents, and the students themselves complete questionnaires. University of Pennsylvania psychologists Angela Duckworth, PhD, and Martin Seligman, PhD, explored self-control in eighth-graders over the course of the school year. Whether your goal is to lose weight, kick a smoking habit, study more, or spend less time on Facebook, willpower is a critical step to achieving that outcome.Īt its essence, willpower is the ability to resist short-term temptations in order to meet long-term goals. Second, you need to monitor your behavior toward that goal. Willpower researcher Roy Baumeister, PhD, a psychologist at Florida State University, describes three necessary components for achieving objectives: First, he says, you need to establish the motivation for change and set a clear goal. Lack of willpower isn’t the only reason you might fail to reach your goals. This report will explore our current understanding of self-control. So how can individuals resist in the face of temptation? In recent years, scientists have made some compelling discoveries about the ways that willpower works. Yet willpower doesn’t automatically grow when you have extra time on your hands. On the other hand, many survey participants reported that having more time for themselves would help them overcome their lack of willpower.

Recent research suggests some ways in which willpower can in fact be strengthened with practice. A majority of respondents believe that willpower is something that can be learned.

Yet although many people blame faulty willpower for their imperfect choices, it’s clear they haven’t given up hope. In 2011, 27% of Stress in America survey respondents reported that lack of willpower was the most significant barrier to change.

Improve self control