Improve Your Willpower By Reminding Yourself Of Your Goals And Values

Whether you believe you’ve only got a limited supply of willpower or not, resisting temptation and making better choices is always a challenge. Epipheo.TV continues its month-long series on life hacks, showing us how to strengthen our willpower by tapping into the more unknown facets of willpower.

Kelly McGonigal, author of The Willpower Instinct, breaks willpower into three different powers:

1. I Won’t Power: what we normally think of as willpower (resisting temptation)
2. I Will Power: the ability to remember you want the consequences of doing that difficult thing (e.g., drinking more water instead of a big box of wine for a healthier future self)
3. I Want Power: the ability to keep a clear memory of what you care about most

Those last two things are a more positive framework that tap into your long-term goals and values and could make it easier to change habits. Just saying “no” to all the short-term temptations may not be enough.

How To Say “No!” to Almost Anything [YouTube]