One of the most well-supported willpower theories concerns ego depletion: the idea that willpower is limited and we rely on a finite reservoir of mental resources to resist temptation (Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Muraven, & Tice, 1998 Muraven & Baumeister, 2000 Gino, Schweitzer, Mead, & Ariely, 2011).Īccording to this theory, we use willpower daily to resist urges and push ourselves, until those resources dwindle or run out. There are numerous different theories about how self-discipline works and how we can tap into it to accomplish our goals. The ability to use “cool” rather than a “hot” emotional system of behavior.The capacity to delay gratification, holding out against short-term temptations so we can meet longer term goals.The ability to quash an impulsive response that undoes our commitment.The American Psychological Association provides a nice overview of a few key self-discipline characteristics that have been used by psychologists, including (Metcalfe & Mischel, 1999 Tangney, Baumeister, & Boone, 2004 Moffitt et al., 2011): It is also defined as “ the ability to suppress prepotent responses in the service of a higher goal… and that such a choice is not automatic but rather requires conscious effort” (Duckworth & Seligman, 2006, p. We’ll be using the terms interchangeably in this article. In the psychological literature, self-discipline is often called self-control or willpower: “ effortful regulation of the self by the self” (Duckworth, 2011, p. ![]() What is self-discipline, and how does it work? Many of us feel like we don’t have enough of it or want to improve it, but can we develop it? Let’s start with a definition of self-discipline and look a little closer at the theory behind it.
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