The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It

The Willpower Instinct

How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It

2011 • 275 pages

Ratings33

Average rating4.1

15

I really liked this book; I constantly ran across examples where I was behaving similarly in my own life, and I appreciate the pointers on how to address some of the problems. I'll be keeping this one, and I can see re-reading it in the future to brush up on some of the things I learned.

The only real niggling issue I had with the book was the constant references to “Some studies”, “recent research”, etc. It got pretty repetitive. Also, I usually think twice when I see references to “some” studies, because it makes me question whether the author is cherry-picking research to support his or her thesis (see Gladwell, Malcolm). Fortunately, the end of the book is filled with references to the actual research mentioned in the book, and although I haven't had the willpower to validate them (see what I did there?), it at least makes me more comfortable that it's legit.

Also, big props to the larger print. It's nice to be able to read without squinting.

January 7, 2014