Willpower Is Finite (How to Do Hard Things Anyway)

Show Notes

Stanford says believe hard enough and your willpower becomes unlimited. Henry Ford said the same thing a century earlier. Turns out the battery drains whether you believe it or not.

Featuring: Henry Ford, Veronika Job, Carol Dweck

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Creators and Guests

Host

Dru Riley

Founder of Trends.vc

CD

Guest

Carol Dweck

Featured in Dru's Notes: Willpower Is Finite (How to Do Hard Things Anyway).

HF

Guest

Henry Ford

Featured in Dru's Notes: Willpower Is Finite (How to Do Hard Things Anyway).

VJ

Guest

Veronika Job

Featured in Dru's Notes: Willpower Is Finite (How to Do Hard Things Anyway).

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One mental model each day in a few minutes. Habits, business, building products and thinking clearly. From Dru Riley, founder of Trends.vc.

I tried the "willpower-only-exists-if-you-believe-it" thing.

But I felt the drain anyway. Some tasks drain you more than others. The afternoon costs more than the morning. The night costs more than the afternoon.

Stanford researchers Veronika Job and Carol Dweck found that people who think willpower is unlimited show less depletion than people who think it's limited. Henry Ford put it bluntly: "Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right." Self-help shelves have echoed this for decades.

Some things bend to belief. Some things do not. You hurt yourself (or worse) by pretending otherwise.

I've found that willpower is one of those real things. It's a battery. It drains. It dies.

Enjoyment = Efficiency

When I enjoy a task, I burn less willpower.
When I hate a task, I burn more willpower.

If willpower were truly infinite, enjoyment wouldn't matter. Neither would time of day.

The battery doesn't care what you believe.

"What task should you do first while your battery is full?"