Why Willpower Fails, What Actually Works

BrainSmart Behavior Change

I see red when I hear the words Just have some willpower.

The statement reflects an outdated belief we can win a power struggle with our brain if we just tried a little harder. We're told lack of willpower is a personal weakness. These messages ignore decades of new insights into how our brain actually works and how we can work with it instead of fighting it.

The reality: We don't need the traditional tactics for resisting what our brain tells us to do (or not do). We do need tactics to reset our brains reward hierarchy so the fight goes away. We need to adopt BrainSmart Behavior Change.

The Epic Failure of Willpower-First Thinking

Relying on willpower fails most people because:

We set goals requiring sustained high willpower: It is our nature to crave big results fast which leads to a risky dependence on willpower when motivation inevitably fades.

Willpower is rarely sustainable: The ability to access deep enduring reserves of willpower may be a rare genetic gift for a lucky few, but most people are not so lucky.

A focus on resisting a behavior avoids the real issue: The behavior's reward value remains unchanged, so our brain keeps craving what we're trying to avoid - we set ourselves up for a never ending battle with our well intended but miss-guided brain.

The Backlash Effect

Willpower also comes with some backlash effects. As addiction and habit breaking expert Dr. Judson Brewer explains in The Hunger Habit:

• What you can't have, you want more of (denial increases desire),

• What you resist persists (don't think of a white bear),

• Failure leads to backsliding (the abstinence violation effect).

Bottom line: Reliance on willpower fails the majority of people most of the time. The data is overwhelming on this point.

But What About All Those Success Stories?

Quick wins with big results make for great marketing and scientific headlines - they're not all lies, just incomplete stories.

There's no incentive to report failures or people who succeed initially but backslide later. And science story headlines oversimplify, ignoring important details, context and limitations.

We need to ask more questions and probe for the bigger picture.

BrainSmart Behavior Change: A Better Way

Instead of fighting your brain, give it what it needs to help meet your goals:

Harness your brain's efficiency-seeking nature. Tap into its ancient habit of automating behaviors to free up attention and resources.

Work directly with your brain's reward system. Teach it what serves you best so it re-recalibrates its reward hierarchy. It will then start automating what serves you and stops automating what doesn't.

Stack small, highly doable change steps. Avoid relying on fickle motivation or deep, rare willpower reserves. Small changes add up like compounding interest in a bank account!

Curious to Learn More?

Visit our Habits Playbook Portal for expert resources. You will find:

Quick Bytes: Videos and podcasts under 15 minutes explaining the why and how

Deeper Dives: Books and longer podcasts with practical insights, doable tactics, and more substantiating evidence.

Wishing you well,

 Janice