Willpower For Dummies

Develop rock-solid willpower with evidence-based techniques Willpower For Dummies shows you how to train, strengthen, and improve your willpower in seven easy steps! Written by a clinical psychologist and cognitive therapist, the book proves that willpower can be learned like any other skill, and provides tons of practical exercises and strategies you can start using today. You'll learn how willpower works inside the brain, and how choosing goals and identifying challenges can affect your success. The book stresses the importance of patience, rewards and being kind to yourself, and walks you through the techniques that will keep you on the right track, even on your worst days. The mind works in two different ways: the long view and the short view. Controlling which aspect wins out is the key to willpower. Willpower For Dummies breaks this complex science down into easily digestible bits, written in plain English with a dash of humour. You'll find scientifically robust guidance toward strengthening your willpower just like a muscle, and expert advice on training your brain to work with you instead of against you. Discover the most important factors in building self-discipline Learn how to set goals and how to train your willpower Practice simple willpower-strengthening exercises Employ coping strategies for when you're about to break Whether you're trying to lose weight, quit smoking or just work harder, rest assured that you can do it—regardless of past failures and false starts. Willpower is not a trait, but a skill. Everyone can learn it, and everyone can make it stronger. Willpower For Dummies walks you through the process, teaching you the skills you need for lasting success.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1 About This Book 2 Foolish Assumptions 3 Icons Used in This Book 3 Beyond the Book 4 Where to Go from Here 4 Part I: Getting Started with Willpower 5 Chapter 1: All About Willpower 7 Equating Willpower and Success 7 Recognising that You Do Have Willpower 8 Understanding How Willpower Works 10 Considering the origins and workings of willpower 10 Realising that willpower is a shared resource 14 Realising that willpower is a limited resource 16 Being Aware of Addiction Issues 17 Increasing Your Willpower 18 Chapter 2: Willpower and You 21 Linking Personality and Willpower 22 Exploring the Big Five Facets of Personality 22 Reading Your Feelings 26 Emotion is in the eye of the beholder 27 Negative emotions are more compelling 29 Connecting Your Emotions and Willpower 29 Appreciating the Role of Positive Emotions 30 Considering Your Beliefs about Willpower 31 Part II: Taking Seven Steps to Improved Willpower 35 Chapter 3: Training Your Willpower: The Willpower Workshop 37 Developing Problem-Solving Skills 38 Distinguishing between worrying and problem solving 38 Using the 5W1H approach 40 Feeding Your Brain: The Willpower Diet 43 Preventing your brain from getting rusty! 43 Avoiding a diet that reduces your willpower 44 Realising that the quick fix is not the best fix 46 Matching food to willpower challenges 47 Taking Physical Exercise 48 Exercising Your Brain 50 Developing Your Willpower Muscle 51 Chapter 4: Zeroing in on a Single Goal 53 Working Memory: Your Brain’s Desktop 54 Contrasting working memory and long-term memory 54 Being single-minded 55 Looking at Motivation: The Essence of Willpower 57 Choosing the right goal at the right time 57 Identifying priorities: Your personal balance sheet 58 Identifying Your Values 59 Setting SMART Goals 60 Prioritising, Preparing and Performing 62 Ways to Nudge Yourself 63 Chapter 5: Recognising that Change is a Journey that Takes Time 67 Seeing the Cycle of Change 67 Precontemplation 69 Contemplation 70 Preparation 70 Action 70 Maintenance 71 Relapse 73 Realising when it’s Okay to Quit (or Quit Quitting!) 73 Review and reflect 74 Know that old habits die hard 75 Chapter 6: Know Your Triggers! Forewarned is Forearmed 79 Identifying Your Triggers 79 Recognising your internal and external triggers 80 Being prepared 82 Planning to Cope 84 Putting the ‘if, then’ strategy to use 86 Acting on the ‘now versus later’ strategy 87 Forming and Changing Habits 88 Chapter 7: Be Kind to Yourself When You Fail 93 Taking Responsibility While Avoiding Self-blame 93 Accepting the responsibility to do better 94 Seeing failure as an opportunity for change 95 Forgoing self-blame 95 Losing hurts 96 Recovering from a Setback 98 Switching your perspective 98 Managing negative thoughts 99 Restoring your confidence 102 Re-evaluating and re-setting your goal 103 Chapter 8: Rewarding Yourself along the Way 105 Being Your Own Willpower Coach 106 Making use of the science of rewards 106 Climbing the goal ladder 108 Identifying Your Talents 112 Expanding your talents 112 Reinforcing your effort 113 Using Rewarding Activities to Boost Willpower 114 Pinpointing preferential activities 115 Identifying flow experiences 116 Celebrating Success 117 Giving yourself a medal! 117 Savouring success 118 Chapter 9: Maintaining Your Progress 119 Meeting Your Brain’s CEO 120 Running hot and cold 120 Putting your willpower CEO to work 122 Using Your Memory to Boost Your Willpower 124 Exploring memory 125 Burying your old memories with new ones 125 Using Motivation to Boost Willpower 129 Expecting Your Willpower to Work 130 Part III: Following Up for Success 133 Chapter 10: Developing and Maintaining Realistic Optimism 135 Aiming for Realistic Optimism 136 Determining what makes an optimist or a pessimist 137 Appreciating the good with the not so good 138 Perfectionism and Procrastination: The Twin Enemies of Willpower! 138 Recognising procrastination 139 Engaging in perfectionism 139 Overcoming unhelpful tendencies 140 Thinking Styles and Predicting Positive or Negative Outcomes 143 Predicting the future 143 Exploring thinking styles with the 3Ps 144 Linking Self-confidence and Willpower 147 Disempowering pessimism 148 Boosting your self-confidence 149 Chapter 11: Creating a Lifestyle That Promotes Willpower 151 Looking on the Bright Side 151 Managing Stress 152 Perceiving and coping with stress 153 Depleting your willpower 155 Connecting stress to performance 155 Reacting to chronic stress 157 Managing Your Mood with Food 157 The right food, the right mood 157 Sugar high, sugar low 158 Sleeping Your Way to Willpower 159 Making Physical and Mental Exercise Routine 161 Getting sufficient physical exercise 161 Exercising your brain 162 Part IV: The Part of Tens 163 Chapter 12: (More Than) Ten Things to Know about Willpower 165 Brain Fitness is Essential for Willpower 166 The importance of being match fit 166 The art of perseverance 167 You Can’t Have a Willpower Bypass 167 Willpower Varies between People 168 Looking at the three reasons why willpower varies 168 Focus is Your Friend 171 Find something that grabs your attention 171 Practise mindfulness 171 Willpower Works on One Goal at a Time 172 Tiredness Triggers Temptation 173 Hunger Zaps Your Willpower 174 Keep Calm, or Get Calm, and Carry On 174 Cut Yourself Some Slack and Reward Yourself for Trying! 175 Just Do Nothing: Give Your Brain a Rest 176 Plan for Failure, Find Success 176 Chapter 13: Ten Ways to Support Your Willpower 179 Eating a Breakfast of Willpower Champions 179 Training Your Brain 180 De-cluttering Your Personal Space 180 Knowing what You’re Drinking 181 Managing Your Anger 181 Planning Your Shopping 182 Prioritising Your Resolutions 182 Being Assertive Rather Than Submissive or Confrontational 183 Tackling Your Problems Stepwise 183 Being Optimistic but Realistic 184 Chapter 14: Ten (Plus) Willpower-related Websites and Apps 185 Using Smartphone Apps 185 Keeping Your Brain Fit with SharpBrains 186 Recording Your Goals with GoalWriter 187 Dieting with the Beck Diet Solution 187 Monitoring Your Physical Exercise 188 Training Your Brain 188 Generic brain training 189 Specific brain training 189 Managing Your Mood 190 Finding Mindfulness and Meditation 191 Overcoming Harmful Habits 192 Improving Your Well-being with Authentic Happiness 192 Having a Laugh 193 Index 195

About the Author :
Frank Ryan is a clinical psychologist and cognitive therapist, specialising in cognition and impulse control. He is also the author of Cognitive Therapy For Addiction, published by Wiley.