In This Episode
What would you say is the #1 reason you struggle to reach their goals?
If you’re like most Americans, it comes down to a lack of willpower.
Or does it?
In this review of The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal, we’re talking about all things willpower: what it is, whether it’s possible you really don’t have any, and most importantly, how to train yourself to have MORE.
In this two-part series, Esther dives into the conversation about willpower and self-control.
She walks us through understanding what exactly those things mean and some strategies to use to improve both self-control and willpower.
Esther sets the stage for the discussion of nine common situations we find ourselves in that can negatively impact our ability to power through and maintain self-control
She walks us through each of the following scenarios and offers sound advice for how to manage each one in a way that supports our goals:
• lacking willpower at certain times of day
• rewarding ourselves with indulgences that are counterproductive to the goal we are rewarding
• telling ourselves that we’ll “start over” after some arbitrary length of time or milestone
• managing cravings
• stress eating and other counterproductive stress coping mechanisms
• all-or-nothing behavior
• setting goals, but not following through with them
• how our behavior is influence by the people around us
• when it feels like we’re thinking about food all of the time.
If you’ve found yourself in the frustrating cycle of “messing up”, saying screw it to the whole day, and swearing to restart on Monday, you need this episode.
If you struggle with intense cravings, think about food all the time, don’t know how to manage your stress without turning to food, you need this episode.
If you are influenced by the behavior of the people around you or are tired of making a little bit of progress and then self-sabotaging, you need this episode.
You’ll Learn:
✅how stress impacts your body
✅why it’s important to separate progress from commitment on the way to reaching your goals
✅how external and internal factors can impact willpower
✅how to indulge mindfully
✅the importance of self-compassion.
Resources:
• Episode 38 – Workouts for Weight Loss
• Episode 80 – How to Finish What You’ve Started
