*A limited resource that can be depleted<ref>[https://positivepsychology.com/psychology-of-willpower/ What Is Willpower? The Psychology Behind Self-Control]</ref>}}
=== Data indicating ego depletion theory concerning willpower is invalid ==
Jeremy Sutton Ph.D. writes:
{{Cquote|“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” - Henry Ford (Goodreads, n.d.).
For a long time, psychologists thought of willpower as a limited resource—known as the ‘ego-depletion theory’ (American Psychological Association, 2012).
Work by Roy Baumeister led to the view that willpower is finite and–just like energy when muscles are overworked–can be used up. In his famous ‘cookie’ experiment, people who could resist eating them right away (called delayed gratification) had a more challenging time controlling temptation later in other tasks (Baumeister & Tierney, 2011).
The theory suggests that if you set more than one self-improvement goal, you may draw on willpower reserves, leaving you depleted and risking failure (Baumeister & Tierney, 2011).
And if willpower is a limited resource, we must use it wisely to achieve long-term goals (American Psychological Association, 2012).
And yet, recent and contradictory psychological research and theory suggest there isn’t a fixed amount of willpower. “Instead of thinking of willpower as the amount of petrol in a car…think of it as the car’s battery,” says Krishna Savani from Nanyang Technological University (Jarrett, 2018, para. 3).
Savani believes that with the right [[mindset]] and [[motivation]], we can ‘own’ our self-control and willpower. And this is backed up by data. Studies show that people are less likely to quit a task when told their resolve is not fixed but unlimited.
While building willpower is not easy, psychology suggests that “a huge part of the solution is simply believing that you can do it” (Hollins, 2021, p. 36).
So, what happens when we do and don’t get things done?
It seems that mindset is crucial. Students coming up to exams that were told willpower was unlimited experienced less stress, fewer bad moods, and could step up their efforts. If we ‘believe’ we have the reserves available to tackle the challenges ahead, we increase our chances of future success (Jarrett, 2018).<ref>[https://positivepsychology.com/psychology-of-willpower/ What Is Willpower? The Psychology Behind Self-Control]</ref>}}
== Books ==