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Secrets of Self-Control Enabling Your New Year's Resolutions a Hit

by Nancy Needhima on Dec 28 2011 9:15 PM

Secrets of Self-Control Enabling Your New Year
It can be arduous to stay on track with any New Year's resolution for more than a week or two, but now help is at hand.
A new book has revealed the secrets of self-control that would help in making those strategies last longer.

Written by American psychologist Kelly McGonigal of Stanford University, the book sets out to explain how we can break destructive habits and create healthy new ones, conquer procrastination and manage stress.

McGonigal says we can all make a success of our New Year's resolutions if we change the way we think about - and learn the secrets of - willpower.

"Now more than ever, people realise that willpower-the ability to control their attention, emotions and desires-influences their physical health, financial security, relationships and professional success," the Daily Mail quoted her as saying.

"And yet, most people feel like willpower failures most of the time-in control one moment, but overwhelmed and out of control the next. Many feel guilty about letting themselves and others down.

"Even the best-controlled feel a kind of exhaustion at keeping it all together and wonder if life is supposed to be such a struggle," she explained.

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After years of watching people wrestle with these problems, McGonigal realised that much of what we believe about willpower sabotages our success and creates unnecessary stress.

So she decided to write a book - bringing together the newest insights about self-control from psychology, economics, neuroscience and medicine.

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It pointed out the recent research into a new treatment for enhancing self-control by psychologists at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.

After two months on their willpower 'treatment programme', six men and 18 women had substantially reduced their smoking, drinking and caffeine intake - even though the researchers hadn't asked them to.

They were eating more healthily, they were spending less time watching TV and more time studying.

Source-ANI


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