Psychology Today | 27.09.2026 03:09
What is "willpower"? Why is it so difficult to overcome certain problems or attain one's personal goals through the assertion of willpower? What makes it so challenging, for instance, to lose weight, stop procrastinating, or quit drinking or using drugs, despite our best efforts? Or to exercise regularly, meditate, eat better, or get sufficient sleep—despite knowing that doing such things would be in our best interest? We try repeatedly to succeed in such efforts, with the best intentions, but inevitably seem to either fall short or fail. As St. Paul the Apostle laments, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."
