Description
Book SynopsisWillpower. You've either got it or not, right? Wrong! Willpower can be taught and learned just like any other skill. And it's something that can be trained and strengthened. Willpower For Dummies shows you in seven easy steps how to improve your willpower.
Table of ContentsIntroduction 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
