One of the most popular folk psychology may be the belief that self-control is somehow "spent."
The idea received support in the late 1990s and has been cited over three thousand times by academic peers.

The ego-depletion myth

A recent study that involved over 2,000 participants attempted to reproduce the experiment that led to the ego-depletion theory but found no evidence of ego depletion. Scholars looked into a 2010 meta-analysis of nearly 200 experiments and discovered that the meta-analysis showed a "publication bias" in which studies that produced contradictory evidence were not included.

The ego-depletion study error

The idea of ego depletion may have caught on because it satisfies a need to justify why we sometimes do things we know we shouldn't.Instead of looking for an excuse, we should perhaps accept that we are fragile, distractible beings and cut ourselves some slack. Maybe our waning energy and wandering minds are trying to tell us something.

Looking at willpower differently

Willpower is not a finite resource but instead acts like an emotion. And it can be managed and used as such.
When we perform a difficult task, it is more helpful to believe a lack of motivation is temporary than to tell ourselves that it is all spent. The lack of willpower could be seen as providing insights about what we should and shouldn't be spending our time on.

Willpower as an emotion

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The Psychology of Willpower

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Baumeister says he and his colleagues are working on further studies to show ego depletion is real. It may well be that in carefully controlled lab conditions, willpower does appear to run out-even though the contradictory evidence makes this conclusion premature.
Perhaps the idea of ego depletion caught on because it satisfies a need to justify why we sometimes do things we know we shouldn't, like slacking off at work when we should be finishing a project. But rather than looking for a hidden willpower gas tank in our heads that doesn't exist, perhaps we should accept that we are fragile, distractible beings and cut ourselves some slack. Perhaps our flagging energies and wandering minds are trying to tell us something.
Michael Inzlicht, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and the principal investigator at the Toronto Laboratory for Social Neuroscience, believes willpower is not a finite resource but instead <a href="https://michaelinzlicht.com/research/">acts like an emotion</a>. Just as we don't "run out" of joy or anger, willpower ebbs and flows based on what's happening to us and how we feel. Viewing willpower through this lens has profound implications.
For one, if mental energy is more like an emotion than like fuel in a tank, it can be managed and utilized as such. A toddler might throw a temper tantrum when refused a toy, but adults learn to ride out bad feelings. Similarly, when we need to perform a difficult task, it's more productive and healthful to believe a lack of motivation is temporary than it is to tell ourselves we're spent and need a break and some ice cream.
But sometimes a lack of motivation isn't temporary. Feelings are our bodies' way of conveying information our conscious minds might miss. When a lack of mental energy is chronic, we should listen to our willpower just as we should listen to our emotions.
Most studies to date have looked at willpower as a force that helps people do things they don't want to do, or that helps them resist temptations they'd rather give in to. But if we adjust the perspective and treat willpower as an emotion, it could instead be seen as providing insights about what we should and shouldn't be <a href="https://www.nirandfar.com/schedule-maker/">spending our time</a> on.
For example, whenever I feel myself easily distracted while working on an article, I know something isn't right. If I'm checking Facebook or Twitter more than I should, I take that as a clear sign I've lost interest in the topic and should write about something else. If I were to force myself to power through despite my lack of interest, I'm sure I could write an article or two, but I certainly wouldn't be able to make a lifetime career out of it.
However, when I find a topic that piques my curiosity or is in line with a cause I believe in, I get into a zone where time flies and words flow. I no longer need to force myself to write, I want to write. After a day of working on tasks requiring no willpower, I don't feel drained, I feel energized. I don't feel like binge-watching Netflix, I feel like telling the world about what I'm working on!
Fundamentally, we give up on tasks that don't engage us. Doing unsolvable puzzles per the order of a social scientist in a lab coat isn't fun, nor is it purposeful. Same goes for the mindless tasks too many people suffer through each day at work. We can power through unenjoyable tasks for a while, but we'll never be our best if we ignore what our feelings are telling us. By listening to our lack of willpower as we would an emotion-as a helpful decision-making assistant working in concert with our logical capabilities-we can find new paths that may not require us to do things we fundamentally don't want to do.
Just as we should seek joy indirectly by engaging in enjoyable pursuits, we can receive the benefits of willpower indirectly, by removing the need to expend it in the first place. Instead of focusing on willpower, we should look to the power of will.
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Baumeister says he and his colleagues are working on further studies to show ego depletion is real. It may well be that in carefully controlled lab conditions, willpower does appear to run out-even though the contradictory evidence makes this conclusion premature.

The Way You Think About Willpower Is Hurting You

The ego-depletion myth

The ego-depletion study error

Looking at willpower differently

Willpower as an emotion

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