Chapter 3 Flashcards
Too Tired to Resist: Why Self-Control Is Like a Muscle
WHY IS SELF-CONTROL IS COMPARED TO MUSCLE?
because Researchers have found that we have a limited energy for willpower/self-control. if we exhausted we will be defenseless against temptation. but if we exercise it, it will get stronger overtime just like our muscle.
WHY IS SELF-CONTROL LIMITED?
The willpower exhaustion is simply a result of the brain running out of energy.
“Fatigue should no longer be considered a physical event but rather a sensation or emotion.” explain Why?
because Fatigue is just a feeling generated by the brain to motivate us to stop, in much the same way that the feeling of anxiety can stop us from doing something dangerous, and the feeling of disgust can stop us from eating something that will make us sick.
But because fatigue is only an early warning system, extreme athletes can routinely push past what seems to the rest of us like the natural physical limits of the body.
Some scientists now believe that the limits of self-control are just like the physical limits of the body—we often feel depleted of willpower before we actually are. In part, we can thank a brain motivated to conserve energy. Just as the brain may tell the body’s muscles to slow down when it fears physical exhaustion, the brain may put the brakes on its own energy-expensive exercise of the prefrontal cortex. This doesn’t mean we’re out of willpower; we just need to muster up the motivation to use it.
what should you do when your willpower is running low?
When your willpower is running low, find renewed strength by tapping into your want power. For your biggest willpower challenge, consider the following motivations:
1. How will you benefit from succeeding at this challenge?
2. Who else will benefit if you succeed at this challenge?
3. Imagine that this challenge will get easier for you over time if you are willing to do what is difficult now.
