Willpower: The Owner's Manual - 12 Tools for Doing the Right Thing

by Frank Martela

Why is Barack Obama only wearing gray or blue suits? Why did Stanley, while searching for Doctor Livingstone in the darkest Africa and haunted by malaria, mosquitoes, diseases, and beasts, still insist on shaving every single morning? Both of them had intuitively taken into use one of the tools to improve willpower that the latest science has confirmed.

This book is the owner’s manual to willpower. It has two functions.

First, based on the recent advances in the science of willpower, it will tell you what willpower is. This is essential because our current mistaken assumptions about willpower are often the biggest obstacles for its effective utilization.

Second, the book will offer twelve tools that will make sure that you are able to get the most out of this resource and be able to do the right thing, in the face of any challenge. The book will teach you how to increase your willpower, how to have the most supporting attitudes, how to train your habitual self into doing the right thing automatically, and how to design your environment so that it gives you optimal support in reaching your targets.

The book combines the latest scientific findings with stories and personal experiences of the author to provide a highly accessible, yet scientifically accurate, take on willpower – the most important tool you have for doing the right thing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology

110 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2013

About the author

Frank Martela, PhD, is a philosopher and researcher of psychology specializing in the question of meaning in life. His articles have appeared in Scientific American Mind and Salon and his work has been featured on Quartz and on the BBC. He has spoken to more than one hundred audiences worldwide, with invited lectures in universities on four continents, including Stanford University and Harvard University. He's been interviewed by the New York Times, Fitness, Vice News, and Monocle Observer among others. He is based at Aalto University in Helsinki.

Frank is a cross-disciplinary researcher with PhDs in both philosophy (University of Helsinki) and organizational research (Aalto University). His research has been published in numerous academic journals within psychology (Journal of Personality, Journal of Positive Psychology, Journal of Happiness Studies, Review of General Psychology), philosophy (Metaphilosophy, Southern Journal of Philosophy), and organizational research (Organization Studies, Journal of Organization Design).

Despite sounding like an academic geek, Frank is a father to three lovely children (currently 8, 5, and 3 years old), an amateur-level soccer player, and generally quite a decent guy to hang out with, who is able to communicate his message with a gusto and without academic jargon.

Reviews

[Ed Silva]

Ok

Good common sense ideas. Easy read. Cons: likely not very memorable. Will need to take notes on suggestions. Read in about 2 hours.

[DeWereldvanKaat]

Een goed boek voor wie nog niets over (onderzoek en bevindingen over) wilskracht heeft gelezen of geen zin heeft om dikke boeken te lezen. Het boek is grotendeels gebaseerd op het onderzoek van Roy Baumeister, die zowat 'de naam' is op gebied van onderzoek rond wilskracht. Ik heb zelf ook "De kracht van wilskracht" gelezen (ook gebaseerd op het onderzoek van Baumeister) en dat is toch grondiger.

Hoe dan ook, toch aan te bevelen voor wie daar nog niets over gelezen heeft. Want iets doen op 'pure' wilskracht is ontzettend moeilijk. Wetenschap leert ons gemiddeld aan de helft van de verleidingen niet weerstaan. Dus dat we toch, soms voor een paar minuten soms voor heel lang, niet doen wat we eigenlijk willen doen.

Het boek geeft geen toverformule, maar rijkt je wel "tools" aan om te zorgen dat je bv. niet in verleiding komt en bijgevolg je (voor iedereen toch beperkte) wilskracht niet eens moet gebruiken.

Zo zou Obama maar 2 soorten kostums hebben, grijs en zwart en zou hij dit naar eigen zeggen doen om het aantal beslissingen te minderen. Iedere beslissing vraagt wilskracht en daarom kan je beter zorgen om je wilskracht te laten voor wat echt belangrijk is. Plannen en voorbereiden zorgt uiteraard ook voor minder nood aan wilskracht (je hebt het al beslist). Naarmate de dag vordert 'daalt' ook je wilskracht en ben je sneller afgeleid/verleid, dus plan die belangrijke zaken best in de voormiddag !

Best wel een interessant boek, zeker dus voor wie hierover nog niets gelezen heeft.

[David Tenemaza Kramaley]

Quick read. This book is a summary of key findings in larger more comprehensive reads such as The Power of Habit. As a summary I find very useful, especially for people who may not have the willpower to read through a 200 page book or multiple books on the matter.

[Kelly]

No nonsense, to-the-point book. It was a quick, but highly valuable read. It does not beat you death with social science experiments and gives you pragmatic advice for how you can help yourself to do more that you are not necessarily motivated to do.

[Yitzchok]

Simple short book with some solid advice on Willpower.