Willpower

It has been said that the friends you have today, and the books you are reading right now, will tell you more about where your life will be in 5 years than any other indicator.

Well, I love my books. And I am proud to know some of the coolest people in the world who allow me to call them "friends."

The newest book I cannot put down is Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by renowned psychologist Roy Baumeister and New York Times writer John Tierney.

Now, I realize that no fewer than a million books have been written on this subject which is as old as time itself. But this new gem explains the science deep inside the brain which drives Willpower. And I love that.

It turns out that “Willpower is like a muscle: it can be strengthened with practice and fatigued with overuse" – which I think is very interesting in this multi-tasking world. For instance, did you know that your brain (and thereby your Willpower) can actually get fatigued by contemplating too many decisions in a single day? But by automating mundane daily decisions and taking the guesswork out of it (i.e., whether or not you’ll actually go to the gym), you can conserve brainpower and build up even stronger willpower for more critical moments (i.e., major life decisions that really count). Once again, I cannot help but think how brilliant Nike was with their “Just Do It” slogan. It's as if they've known this brainy little secret all along.

If you think this is kabuki science that doesn't apply to life and death decisions, check this out. In the areas of eating habits, right down to the consumption of glucose (sugar) they cite a study: "Researchers found that Israeli judges making parole decisions were likely to grant parole roughly 65 percent of the time after a meal break, but approved parole almost never right before one." Kind of makes you re-think when to set appointments to pitch business proposals, doesn't it?

The authors also report that the average human faces up to 4 hours of temptation per day. I haven’t gotten to that chapter yet, but I can only imagine that with the temptations stemming from food and drink, social networking, texting, and the glow of online sex, it stands to reason we are a nation going out of our minds. Literally.

This book will change your way of thinking. Whether you're looking to eat healthy, run a Marathon, or just become a better human being. I know it has changed my perspective already. Check it out on Amazon.com when you can. Just don't overthink it.