Comment on Can willpower be trained ?

Izzgo@kbin.social ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

• benni@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Is this not just a (mildly oversimplified) framing of what psychologists call ego depletion [1]? This appears to be a well-replicated finding. I don’t see any reason to call it “wildly incorrect”.

  [1] The strength model of self-control. psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-18261-013

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  • Izzgo@kbin.social ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I had never heard of ego depletion, and after looking it up frankly I think, outside of psychology, the idea is at best misinformation, to the point of disinformation. Not something to incorporate into your life beliefs. From Wikipedia;

    Ego depletion is the controversial idea that self-control or willpower draws upon a limited pool of mental resources that can be used up. When the energy for mental activity is low, self-control is typically impaired, which would be considered a state of ego depletion.

    As a self sufficient Boomer, that sounds too much like shooting yourself in the foot. Maybe it's a symptom of a mental disease/weakness, which is why it might be useful to psychologists. Maybe the ego needs to be repleted, if it's depleted. But rather than believe you start the day with a limited amount of will power, start your day by giving yourself a boost. Tell yourself what you can do, rather than what you can't.

    So I stand by my original comment, flippant as it was. Don't buy into bullshit. If you are hanging out (real life or online) in places where the attitude is that we're each limited in what we can accomplish, then you should hang out elsewhere. How can you reach for the stars if you're convinced you don't have what it takes?

    Yeah there are things that are legitimately hard to do. Excruciatingly hard sometimes. Overcoming hardships makes you stronger. Believing you only have so much "will" does not.

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