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Willpower Instinct Book Report

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How many people have set a New Year’s resolution but still have not completed it or have not even started it? Who knows? They should not feel embarrassed, because I am one of them. The Willpower Instinct by Dr. Kelly McGonigal, an award-winning psychology instructor at Stanford University and health educator for the School of Medicine’s Health Improvement Program, presents reasons behind our actions. The primary focus of the book circles around our willpower: the “I will”, “I want” and “I won’t” power; these powers are controlling our thoughts and actions. The Willpower Instinct not only used studies to emphasize our problems; but it also provided strategies to help us to face our challenge. This book helped me to have a better understanding …show more content…

I basically procrastinated every day. “It is so hot today, so late already, I just ate, I just took a shower” etc...So I tell myself that I will exercise tomorrow, for I can come up with a million different excuses to put off my exercise for tomorrow. McGonigal brought out “ Our optimism about the future extends not just to our own choices, but to how easy it will be to do what we say we will do” (94). So all this time, I thought that exercise is so easy, so I do not exercise just because it is an “easy” task? Procrastination already wasted four years of my exercising time, but I shall not let that continue anymore. McGonical suggests, “if you tell yourself that you are too tired or don’t have the time to exercise, start thinking of exercise as something that restores, not draining your energy and willpower”(45). I actually agree with this strategy; in fact, it has already worked on me. The last time I exercised, I felt really powerful and energized afterward. Then I felt like I could not stop, yet I do not have the fitness to continue, or else I would exercise for a longer time. Yet if I exercise more from now on, I will become fitter and will be able to exercise for a longer period of time. Knowing this strategy has already worked on me, I have more motivation to exercise more

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