Can
willpower alone get you through to the end of this challenge? Science says, maybe not.
You’ve
come so far. 21 days into your 30 Day
Challenge and sometimes it seems difficult, like you might not make it to the
end. Well, you are not alone. The latest research shows that sheer
willpower can be exhausting. Scientists
liken it to a muscle that can fatigue from overuse.
These
few weeks have been tough right? Instead
of going for the cookie, you went for the healthy power bar, instead of staying
late at the office, you left in time to get to class, instead of eating the
burger, you ate the salad, or instead of making that snide remark to your
co-worker, you decided to be supportive and nice.
Over
the last decade, there have been several studies on willpower depletion. Dr. Roy Baumeister conducted a study wherein
half the subjects were escorted into an aroma filled room of fresh baked cookies. Half the subjects were given cookies to eat
and the other half, radishes. Afterwards,
the subjects were asked to work on a difficult geometric puzzle and given 30
minutes to complete the task. Those
subjects who ate the radishes gave up on the puzzle within 8 minutes while
those who ate the fresh baked cookies lasted, on average, 19 minutes. The study concluded that drawing on self
control to resist the cookies drained the “radish group” of the willpower to
concentrate on the puzzle.
In
another study, subjects were asked to view a movie and suppress their feelings
while another group was allowed to watch and experience their natural emotional
responses. Afterwards, they were tested
for physical stamina and the group who deprived themselves of emotional
feelings gave up sooner than those who were allowed to emote. Again, those who tested their willpower during
the movie portion of the test seemed depleted when executing the physical part
of the experiment.
Scientist
from the University of Toronto found that when your willpower has been
depleted, your brain actually registers decreased activity in the anterior
cingulate cortex, a region of the brain involved with cognition. When your willpower has been tested, your
brain may function differently. Some
scientists think that the brain demands high levels of glucose in order to
maintain self control. And when the
glucose is used up, it can’t replenish it fast enough to continue on to other
tasks. So, this makes it difficult to
continue the discipline of depravation.
However, restored glucose tends to “reboot” willpower.
There
is also evidence that attitude and individual drive makes a difference as to
whether or not willpower lasts. Those
that are in tune with themselves and self motivated fair much better with
willpower than their counter parts who are motivated by “pleasing others.”
These studies also concluded that positive
moods and beliefs seem to affect willpower depletion. Subjects that watched comedies, or were given
surprises overcame their willpower depletion.
That’s why I suggest you give yourself rewards, meditate and honor
yourself for taking this journey towards better health and fitness. Yes, it’s hard and arduous but if you stay
strong and stay on track, the end result will be life changing.
You’ve
come this far. Don’t quit now. Keep going; I’m right there with you… my goal
was NO COFFEE. Trust me; I am going to
reward myself with a very nice cup of coffee when these 30 days are over - a
big one too. What goal did you
declare? Are you still doing it? I hope so. Declare
it again and start over if you have to. Remember,
true character is developed by what you do when no one is watching. Do this for you, nobody but you.
See
you at the end.
Namaste,
Clarita
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