How to Increase Willpower and Follow Through With Resolutions

The Atlantic:

Many people who made New Year’s resolutions are likely struggling with them now. Some may have already given up. Others are just letting the whole thing slide. The fact is that the act of making a resolution is a necessary step on the road to change. And for many of us, it is an exhilarating moment. It’s a way of telling yourself what’s important to you and committing some mental energy to it. It’s all those other, harder, steps afterward that can be tough.

CALL IN THE EXPERTS, IT’S RESOLUTION CRUNCH TIME

The urge to improve ourselves is noble and worthy of our effort and attention. We thought maybe you would like some expert help getting through the days and weeks and months ahead as you try to quit smoking, lose weight, be kinder, be more organized, be less time compulsive, make lists, reduce clutter, and stop procrastinating.

Social psychologist Roy Baumeister, the Francis Eppes Professor at Florida State University, has spent years studying how people regulate their emotions, resist temptation, break bad habits, and perform up to their potential — and why they often fail to do so. His new book, Willpower, Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, written with co-author and New York Times science writer John Tierney, offers a clear picture of just why willpower is so tricky and so often misunderstood.

Read the whole story: The Atlantic

See Roy Baumeister at the 24^th APS Annual Convention: Society for the Teaching of Psychology Talk and Invited Symposium