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    Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength
    Unavailable
    Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength
    Unavailable
    Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength
    Audiobook9 hours

    Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength

    Written by Roy Baumeister and John Tierney

    Narrated by Denis O' Hare

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    For years, our concept of the self and well-being has been dominated by the notion of self-esteem, while the old fashioned value of willpower has been disparaged by psychologists who argued that we're largely driven by unconscious forces beyond our control. In Willpower Baumeister and Tierney turn this misinformation on its head to reveal self-control as arguably the single most powerful indicator of success.

    Baumeister discovered that willpower actually has a physical basis to it: it is like a muscle that can be strengthened with practice, and fatigued from overuse. That's why eating and sleeping-and especially failing to do either of those-have such dramatic effects on self-control. 

    Yet, while self-control is biologically rooted, we have the capacity to manipulate our nature. Willpower features personal stories from entrepreneurs, executives, parents and children who have managed to do just that. The characters range from Victorian explorers to modern homemakers, from college students pulling all nighters to entertainers. The practical lessons in self-control conditioning they provide are nothing short of life changing.

    Combining the best of modern social science with the practical wisdom of David Allen, Ben Franklin, and others, Baumeister and Tierney here share the definitive compendium of modern lessons in willpower.

    A Simon & Schuster audio production.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateSep 6, 2011
    ISBN9781442345676
    Unavailable
    Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength
    Author

    Roy Baumeister

    Roy F. Baumeister ist seit 2016 Professor für Sozialpsychologie an der University of Queensland in Australien, mit den Themenschwerpunkten Sexualität, Selbstkontrolle, Selbstbehauptungsmechanismen, Motivation und Aggression. Er promovierte an der Princeton University und war unter anderem Francis Eppes Eminent Professor of Psychology an der Florida State University. Als einer der international bekanntesten Psychologen und Autor zahlreicher Bücher wurde Baumeister im Jahr 2015 in die American Academy of Arts and Sciences gewählt.

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    Reviews for Willpower

    4/5

    250 ratings23 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Despite the somewhat cheeky title, this is a brilliant overview of what willpower and self-control is, what influences our willpower and how can we make changes to reach goals and make results last. Baumester and Tierny write with humour and zest, using the studies their theories are based on to the fullest extent. Some books may change your life; Willpower has the power to do so.
    • 4/5
      Solid insight on Willpower development the importance of a number of practical considerations when you are forming habits, taking on tasks, etc.
    • 5/5
      Highly recommend this book to anyone looking to chart their own self growth and career progression by going on the offensive for you actually have set goals to accomplish.
    • 5/5
      This book is very informative. A lot can be learned here and can be used in everyday living.
    • 4/5
      Good explanation about what willpower is and isn't. Some helpful self help ideas, but not basically a self help book. Not super deep.
    • 3/5
      There's a pattern I appreciate, how the scientists guess, they have a theory, they test it by running a study, and hey, we were wrong, how bout that, the study shows something different.
    • 5/5
      This book was exactly what I needed. It has opened my eyes to so many mistakes I was making in my everyday life. I feel like I have more control over my decisions and knowing when I’m most likely to make a better decision.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      It's hard to believe you can get a Tome of Understanding, a major artifact worth 27,500 gp, for mere 10 bucks nowadays.

      We spend a great deal of our lives attempting Will saves, might as well learn how to succeed in them more.
    • 4/5
      Much more of a pop-science slant than I would have preferred, but otherwise this book does a great job of digesting the field of self-regulation (the "willpower" of the title) into an easily-understood narrative and readily applicable tools to exploit the knowledge.

      The essence of Roy Baumeister's research is that, contrary to beliefs that prevailed through much of the 20th century, willpower -- which is variously described as the ability to focus, apply one's cognitive abilities, and restrain emotional impulses -- actually is a finite resource. This view, once popular until mainstream psychology discarded it in the early 1900s, has made a recent resurgence largely thanks to Baumeister's findings.

      The self, or the "will" as you might call it, is the essential core of human behavior. It's your ability to read a book without distraction, or stick to a diet, or keep working in spite of temptations to goof off. As Baumeister discovered, the self is also a transient thing, subservient to the inner workings of the brain which creates it. Key to this discovery is that the brain's function, dependent on a supply of circulating glucose in the blood, actually changes when we're forced to make decisions, resist temptations, or even think too hard on a math problem. This altered behavior manifests itself as a decreased ability to self-regulate. Willpower, then, is not a "thing we have" but is contingent on what we've been doing and how much energy we've got to fuel the brain.

      Tierney and Baumeister make for a good combination, my pop-science complaint aside. The book is easily read, despite what could have quickly become a confusing jargon-festival. Being reasonably familiar with the primary literature on this subject, I can say that the book is faithful in spirit and letter. Best of all there are useful strategies that can be applied to your life straight from the text.

      Overall, I found this a good read, balanced between science writing and self-help.
    • 4/5
      After hearing about this book on NPR, I was quite interested. I don't need to quit smoking nor do I have children to teach self-control to, but I found it a fascinating read, especially in terms of evolutionary psychology.
    • 4/5
      Solid insight on Willpower development the importance of a number of practical considerations when you are forming habits, taking on tasks, etc.
    • 4/5
      Solidly grounded in psychology research. Felt a bit like reading for doctoral seminars in my PhD program ... except the book is written in an engaging and easy to read style, not the standard journal article.
    • 4/5
      This book has a lot of information about what influences our willpower, decision-making abilities, and self-control. It is filled with a lot of findings from research, as well as many stories about real people. I found it very interesting. Although I did not always agree with the conclusions drawn from the studies and stories, I think overall it has some good information.
    • 4/5
      This book has a lot of information about what influences our willpower, decision-making abilities, and self-control. It is filled with a lot of findings from research, as well as many stories about real people. I found it very interesting. Although I did not always agree with the conclusions drawn from the studies and stories, I think overall it has some good information.
    • 5/5
      It is really a great book. It guides you through the secrets of self control evidenced by studies not only author opinion. Totally worth listening.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I already read to many books on similar topics (habits, procrastination, behavior, addiction) so I didn't find anything really new or useful.
    • 2/5
      Haven't had the willpower to finish it

      2 people found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This book will make you a better human being.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      This was an ok read for me - in the beginning it felt like a self help book, and I got the same exact feeling from the concluding chapter, but overall it did contain a good measure of results. There isn't a particular theory of willpower that is fed to the reader as the ultimate way to think about it, or at least the narrative is more subtle than that, and sure as I am no psychologist it could be that it reports rather selectively only results which are closer to the line of research of Baumeister, one of the authors - nevertheless I did get something out of it, and the various experiments and results are presented clearly and in such a fashion as to present a coherent view.

      There are interesting points and angle that I were new to me, such as the implied role of new technologies to keep people in check as a substitute for religion; and interesting points on dieting. But to my taste the book tended too often to stray towards the and-now-I-tell-you-how-you-can-avoi-such-pitfalls-in-you-life that irk me deeply.

      Overall, though not overjoied I am glad I read this book.
    • 4/5
      I like what I read, but hilariously enough, I had a hard time getting myself to finish. I think because it touched some raw nerves, and I would've rather been knitting.
    • 4/5
      This book is all about self-control; the cutting edge neural science behind it, how much we have, how to improve it, how it impacts our lives (in particular temptations, dieting, addictions, finances), and information on raising children with more of it. The latest science and wisdom of willpower and tips on how to use it for self-improvement.
    • 4/5
      Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney make mention of two facts in the beginning of "Willpower": One, the two personal qualities that predict "positive outcomes" in our lives are intelligence and self-control. Two, researchers have concluded that we spend a quarter of our waking hours resisting desires. This book is meant to improve the first (self-control) while making the second (resisting desires) easier. They achieve their aim with the use of solid research, effective story telling and varied examples to drive their points home.After an early examination of the sense of willpower through time, the authors use interesting studies like the"marshmallow" and "radish" experiments to show how researchers have attempted to prove brilliant theories that helpus understand where willpower comes from and how to improve it. They give good, quick advice in recommending that we focus on one project at a time for the simple reason that ourwillpower can only go so far and it is better to give all our focus on changing one thing than a multitude. Hence,their specific instructions to never make New Years Resolutions. Showing the best ways to increase willpower - proper diet, setting clear goals and monitoring behavior - the authorsgive vivid examples as varied as Drew Carey getting organized, Eric Clapton getting dry or Lord Stanley shavingevery day to make it out of Africa to show the different tools we can all use to increase our willpower.They go on to show how making multiple decisions affects our willpower (why do they put the sweets near the checkout line?)to willpower workouts and Bright Lines and other tricks to strengthen our willpower muscle. Raising children & dieting chapters end the book and give further stories and research into bringing willpower to bearon these most important subject areas.In sum, "Willpower" is chock full of valuable advice based on scientific research and actionable material that the average reader will surely find useful in some area of their life they are trying to improve through the applicationof willpower. A definite must read.
    • 5/5
      Several ingenious studies and profiles weave together to create an entertaining and thought-provoking read. The big idea that interested me was that willpower is a limited and generic quantity that is dependent on glucose levels. Helps me make sense of my family's tendency to have a pre-dinner fuss. Contains several self-help tips. The writing is a little lite for my taste, especially considering the detail and thoroughness of Baumeister's other writings, especially on self-esteem. Would have liked to have read more about the mechanisms responsible for "increasing" willpower and boundary conditions for transference of willpower.