Willpower For Dummies

Willpower. You’ve either got it or not, right?

Wrong! Willpower can be taught and learned just like any other skill. And it’s something that can be trained and strengthened. Willpower For Dummies shows you in seven easy steps how to improve your willpower. Inside you’ll find out:

• How to how to set goals
• How to train your willpower
• Simple exercises for strengthening your willpower
• Coping strategies for those days when you’re at risk of breaking.
Whether you have a specific goal in mind, a habit you want to break, or you simply want to exercise a little more self-control in life (who doesn’t?), this book is for you.

The core of the book is the seven step approach:

• Train your willpower! Exercises such as making yourself sit up straight at your desk can have surprising benefits in other, more difficult, areas like resisting temptation to eat or drink too much.
• Choose the right goal at the right time: Willpower works best when focused on one thing rather than many.
• Change takes time: Especially if using willpower to change established habits like eating too much, drinking too much or smoking.
• Identify those situations where your willpower is challenged: Anticipating these scenarios gives you time to prepare a game plan.
• Be kind to yourself when you fail: Learn from any setbacks. You are not back at square one.
• Reward yourself (for successes and effort): By overriding certain impulses we can be depriving ourselves of sources of gratification. It is crucial to find other sources of gratification, pleasure or reward.
• Maintain your progress: Simple techniques can help you maintain your motivation, even on the toughest day.

About the Author

Frank Ryan is a clinical psychologist and cognitive therapist, specialising in cognition and impulse control. He is also the author of Cognitive Therapy For Addiction, published by Wiley.