4 Surprising Ways to Boost Willpower

You’re a few weeks into those New Year’s resolutions. How’s your willpower holding up?

Willpower plays a role in almost every health decision you make, including what you eat, how often you exercise, and whether you drink too much. And it’s not just something you use only once in a while.

According to Roy F. Baumeister, PhD, a social psychologist at Florida State University and author of Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, the average person spends three to four hours a day resisting temptation.

Willpower is reflected not only in what you do, but also in how your brain works. Scientists from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, scanned the brains of current smokers, former smokers, and people who had never smoked while they worked on mental tasks. Compared to never smokers, those who had quit smoking showed increased activity in prefrontal regions of the brain related to controlling behavior. In contrast, those who were current smokers showed decreased activity there.

Learn simple strategies for boosting your willpower

Where There’s a Will

How can you jumpstart your own willpower? Below are four surprising tips based on the emerging science of self-control.

Fact 1: Clenching your muscles helps you say no to dessert.

Imagine that you’re firming your resolve to do something difficult. Do you picture yourself clenching your fists and gritting your teeth? These actions are so closely tied to determination that simply performing them may call up greater willpower.

In a recent study in the Journal of Consumer Research, volunteers with health goals were better able to resist unhealthy foods at a snack bar when they tightened muscles in their hands. Further studies by the same research team showed that clenching muscles also helped volunteers accomplish other feats of self-control, such as taking a yucky-tasting health tonic or submerging their hands in an ice bucket.

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Fact 2: Doing good deeds helps you power through workouts.

No one ever accused Mother Teresa of lacking self-control. Do-gooders are seen as having more willpower. And when you view yourself this way, it may turn into a self-fulfilling prophesy.

In a study in Social Psychological and Personality Science, participants were given a dollar and told they could either donate it to charity or keep it. They were also asked to hold out a weight with an extended arm for as long as they could, and those who went the donation route were able to hold the weight for longer, on average. A second study showed that physical endurance was also increased when participants simply imagined themselves doing either good or evil deeds.

Fact 3: Sipping lemonade may provide a quick willpower boost.

Blood sugar fuels the brain. Self-control takes a lot of mental energy, and research has shown that low levels of blood sugar are associated with poor performance on self-control tasks.

In a recent interview in Monitor on Psychology, Dr. Baumeister noted that replenishing blood sugar with a glass of lemonade may boost willpower.

Fact 4: Practicing writing with your other hand helps build willpower.

Dr. Baumeister also recommended occasionally using your non-dominant hand for things you do habitually, such as turning doorknobs, brushing your teeth, or signing your name.

This forces your brain to override its default responses and exert intentional control over your actions. In time, according to Dr. Baumeister, this type of practice helps strengthen self-control.

Check out the brain in 3D

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