The Ultimate Foundation for Self-Control
This quote is helpful in laying bare the foundations of what you need to ground yourself. We clearly live with the first three enemies more than we do with the latter three. Often, part of transformation isn’t about taking big, bold leaps, it’s about being able to assess what we want less of and controlling the parts of ourselves that want to override the system and function on autopilot. The three skills for self-control, however, are all about processes.

The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It by Kelly McGonigal shows us how willpower is a mind-body response, not a virtue. It is a biological function that can be improved through mindfulness, exercise, nutrition, and sleep.

Willpower is not an unlimited resource. Too much self-control can actually be bad for your health. Temptation and stress hijack the brain’s systems of self-control, and that the brain can be trained for greater willpower. Willpower is centered in a specific region of the brain (within the prefrontal cortex). It uses more energy than almost any other brain region, and therefore it gets tired after prolonged use each day.

It’s also like a muscle, in that training it through specific meditations, and breathing exercises increases its strength and endurance. Interestingly, over time, it is paradoxically far easier to resist temptations if you don’t try to repress them, but instead actually focus on them. Many mindfulness studies have proven this counterintuitive finding.
['Chad Prevost']
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