Willpower: Rediscovering Our Greatest Strength - Hardcover

Roy F. Baumeister

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1846143500 ISBN 13: 9781846143502

Publisher: Allen Lane, 2012

Synopsis

Can you resist everything except temptation? In a hedonistic age full of distractions, it's hard to possess willpower - or in fact even understand why we should need it. Yet it's actually the most important factor in achieving success and a happy life, shown to be more significant than money, looks, background or intelligence. This book reveals the secrets of self-control. For years the old-fashioned, even Victorian, value of willpower has been disparaged by psychologists who argued that we're largely driven by unconscious forces beyond our control. Here Roy Baumeister, one of the world's most esteemed and influential psychologists, and journalist John Tierney, turn this notion on its head. They show us that willpower is like a muscle that can be strengthened with practice and improved over time. The latest laboratory work shows that self-control has a physical basis to it and so is dramatically affected by simple things such as eating and sleeping - to the extent that a life-changing decision may go in different directions depending on whether it's made before or after lunch. You will discover how babies can be taught willpower, the joys of the to-don't list, the success of Alcoholics Anonymous, the pointlessness of diets and the secrets to David Blaine's stunts. There are also fascinating personal stories, from explorers, students, soldiers, ex-addicts and parents. Based on years of psychological research and filled with practical advice, this book will teach you how to gain from self-control without pain, and discover the very real power in willpower. The results are nothing short of life-changing.

About this title

About the Author

Roy F Baumeister is one of the world's most prolific and influential psychologists. He received his PhD from Princeton in 1978 and currently is Francis Eppes Eminent Scholar and head of the psychology program at Florida State University. He has over 450 scientific publications, and this will be his 28th book. John Tierney writes the Findings science column for the New York Times. His science writing has won awards from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Institute of Physics. He is the author of The Best-Case Scenario Handbook and the co-author, with Christopher Buckley, of the comic novel God Is My Broker. He is a frequent guest on US radio and television.

Review

Willpower (the thing) lies at the curious intersection of science and behavior. Willpower (the book) lies at the intersection of Roy Baumeister, an extraordinarily creative scientist, and John Tierney, a phenomenally perceptive journalist. Ignore it at your peril -- Stephen J. Dubner, coauthor of 'Freakonomics' and 'SuperFreakonomics' [An] instant classic...[Willpower shows how]...recent research can help people lead better lives - be better parents, stay organized, and lose weight more wisely...[A] brilliant book -- Jamie Holmes Daily Beast An immensely rewarding book, filled with ingenious research, wise advice and insightful reflections on the human condition -- Steven Pinker New York Times Book Review An accessible, empirically grounded guide to willpower and how best to deploy it to overcome temptation...Should one need a more practical sales pitch for the importance of willpower, Messrs. Baumeister and Tierney point to ... its over-riding importance for academic, personal, career and financial success... Willpower offers no shortage of helpful strategies to compensate for weakness of will -- Cordelia Fine Wall Street Journal Willpower affects almost every aspect of our lives...Tierney and Baumeister have given us a wonderful book in which they not only share fascinating research on the subject but also provide simple tricks to help us tap into this important quality -- Dan Ariely, Duke University, author of 'Predictably Irrational' Willpower is sinfully delicious -- once you start reading, you won't be able to stop. A fascinating account of the exciting new science of self-control -- Daniel Gilbert, Harvard University, author of 'Stumbling On Happiness' As wonderfully entertaining as it is enlightening! Tierney and Baumeister have produced a highly intelligent work full of fascinating information (and great advice) about a core element of modern living. Bravo -- David Allen, author of 'Getting Things Done and Making It All Work' This little masterpiece is a must read for all of us who want to exercise, diet, manage our time, be thrifty, and resist temptation -- Martin Seligman, University of Pennsylvania, former president of American Psychological Association, author of 'Authentic Happiness and Flourish' This is a manual from heaven for anyone who has ever wanted to lose weight, stop smoking, drink less, work more efficiently and more intelligently. An astonishingly good -- and accessible -- inquiry into one of the more elusive areas of human psychology -- Christopher Buckley, author 'Thank You for Smoking' and 'Losing Mum and Pup' Deep and provocative analysis of people's battle with temptation and masterful insights into understanding willpower: why we have it, why we don't, and how to build it. A terrific read -- Ravi Dhar, Yale School of Management, Director of Center for Customer Insights A Guardian 2012 Literary Highlight Guardian Willpower rather than self-esteem is the essential ingredient for a successful life...The good news, according to the authors, is that willpower, unlike intelligence, is a muscle that can be exercised and encouraged to grow...The book's success in America underlines its timeliness...I suspect that all the politicians currently talking about "alarm-clock Britain" will be studying this book closely...people could benefit from reading this book -- Daisy Goodwin Sunday Times

Edition details

• Publisher: Allen Lane
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1846143500
• ISBN 13: 9781846143502
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 304