Does your environment matter more than Willpower?

Being able to resist temptation is at the core of achieving goals and making the most of our opportunities. Research has confirmed as much, with those tending to score highest in willpower being the same people that live healthy lives, maintain happy relationships, and find the greatest success in their professional endeavors.

Such research has raised willpower to the pinnacle of sought-after qualities. But is it possible to get more of it? While some have attempted (to varying degrees of success) to strengthen it by exposing themselves to temptations and practicing self-restraint, there may be another, and perhaps more effective, solution to our willpower woes.

The Marshmallow Experiment

In one well-known study, psychologist Walter Mischel placed a delicious marshmallow in front of school kids, making note that if they can withstand their watering mouths and growling stomachs they will be rewarded with a second marshmallow. The kids squirmed, twisted in their chairs, covered their eyes, gritted their teeth. Many gave in, some tough souls lasted the 15 minutes.

In follow up studies, Mischel found that those who did hold out tended to fare better later in life, lending support to the power of self-control. However, those that successfully held out often displayed a number of strategies to help them. Many of the kids would divert their gaze away from the marshmallow, cover their eyes, or even pretend that the marshmallow was something else, something they didn’t desperately want to eat.

The kids who looked directly at the marshmallow didn’t stand much of a chance. This raises an interesting question: is willpower about restraining yourself in the face of temptations, or is it about finding ways of avoiding them altogether?

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

There are two ways of measuring willpower—measure it directly with tests such as Mischel’s marshmallow experiment, or question people regarding their past experiences with self-control. While both methods tend to correlate to later success, there is reason to believe they could each be measuring something separate.

Read more: https://www.diygenius.com/does-your-environment-matter-more-than-willpower/