Why Willpower Doesn't Work and What to Do About It

In their bestselling book Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, Chip and Dan Heath describe the notion that self control, or willpower, is an exhaustible resource. The idea is well supported in the psychology literature, where typically it is referred to as ego depletion. In fact, over 100 studies have consistently shown that after exercising self control at Time 1, individuals are less able to exercise self control at Time 2.

As part of one such study – described by the Heath brothers in their book – experimenters set up two conditions in which participants restrained themselves from eating either radishes or chocolate chip cookies. Later, participants engaged in a problem-solving exercise consisting of a puzzle that, unbeknownst to them, couldn't actually be solved. Experimenters measured how long participants persisted in trying to solve the puzzle. So what were the findings? Well, as you may have guessed, participants who restrained themselves from eating cookies gave up on the puzzle much more quickly than their radish-abstaining counterparts. In fact, the radish-abstainers spent an average of 19 minutes trying to complete the puzzle, compared to only 8 minutes for the cookie-abstainers. The conclusion: because they had to expend more self control at time 1, the cookie-abstainers had less self control available for the puzzle activity and time 2.

Ego depletion arguably is the main reason why behavior change is so difficult. We struggle to change because, despite our best intentions, we simply run out of self control. Consider my example of wanting to lower my cholesterol. My dad recently had a heart transplant, so I've got all the motivation in the world to change. But, changing my behavior and eating healthier foods still requires a heavy dose of self-control, and, like all of us, I've only got so much of it to go around. Today, for example, I have to exercise self control in a number of different ways, including writing this blog entry, preparing a presentation for later in the week, not drinking soda (even though my company provides it for free!) and listening actively during meetings. By the time the evening rolls around, I probably won’t have very much self control left in the tank, and that’s why behavior change is so hard. The likelihood that I’ll order a pizza for dinner, rather than prepare a healthy meal from scratch, goes up as my limited supply of self control goes down.

Okay, so then how can we actually succeed in changing our behavior? Well, as it turns out, the secret lies in doing whatever we can to remove self control from the equation. In other words, we want to make changes that require very little willpower. Here are some quick tips on how to do just that:

1. Set Small Goals – Small changes require less self control that big ones. For example, to lower my cholesterol, I've set an initial modest goal of eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. This is much easier that completely revamping my diet.
2.  Minimize Uncertainty – We have to exercise additional self control when we don’t know precisely when and how we’ll implement a new behavior. For example, if I don’t have a plan for which fruits and vegetables I’ll eat and when, I’m less likely to follow through. By having a clear plan that minimizes decision points, we dramatically increase our chances for success.
3. Minimize the Amount of Effort Required – Make the change as easy on yourself as possible. In my case, eating raw vegetables obviates the need for me to do any additional cooking, thus making the change easier to implement.
4. Eliminate Any Additional Obstacles – We have to exercise additional self control whenever we encounter an obstacle to change, so it’s best simply to eliminate them whenever possible. In my case, I may not have time to prepare a healthy, veggie-filled meal every evening. On busier days, I often have dinner at a local, all-you-can eat salad bar. As a result, my busy schedule is less frequently an obstacle to healthy eating.

Make Change As Easy As Possible

So I’m one week into my self-improvement experiment and have already made some decent progress. On most days, I’ve managed to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables. I’m also listening more attentively during meetings at work. I only managed to call my parents once, but I’m figuring out how to make two calls part of my weekly routine. I think I’ve been able to make these small changes largely because of how easy they are.

This probably shouldn’t be a surprise, since one of the best predictors of whether we change our behavior is simply the effort required to do so. As you’ve probably guessed, when the effort required goes up, the likelihood of success goes down.

Keeping that in mind, I’m trying to make small changes that create minimal disruption in my daily routine. As an example, for my long-term goal of lowering my cholesterol, I’ve set the modest initial goal of eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. To make the change even easier, I’m making it a point to eat fruits and vegetables that I actually like. This means I’m not forcing myself to eat broccoli or cauliflower, which to me are only edible when covered in either Thousand Island or ranch dressing. Instead, I’m eating carrots, grape tomatoes, and strawberries, all of which I like. Each morning, I pack an assortment of them and then snack throughout the day. Also to make things easier on myself, I’m allowing a full 30 days to focus on my initial goal. This should help not try to change too much too soon.

Once eating five servings of fruits and vegetables becomes automatic – meaning it requires almost no thought or effort on my part – I’ll move on to another modest goal that also will help lower my cholesterol. I’ll take the same gradual approach to becoming a better listener at work and to devoting more time to my family.

The key take away is pretty straightforward: when trying to change your behavior, make it as easy on yourself as possible. If you set small goals that require minimal effort, you’ll dramatically increase your chances for long-term success.

How to Change Anything

Okay, so that’s a pretty ambitious title, but with the right approach, we think it really is possible to change just about anything. Here’s how to do it.

A Little Background:  Based on a significant body of research, there are two underlying components to successful behavior change: motivation and ability. Basically, we are much more likely to change our behavior when we want to AND when we have the ability to do so. Each step outlined below increases motivation and/or ability, thus maximizing the likelihood of successful change.

Step 1 - Set Your Goal:  The key factor when it comes to goal setting is to take baby steps. Often, organizations and individuals alike make the mistake of trying to change too much too quickly. The idea is to make a small change and build a new habit. Once the habit is established, move on to another small change. Let’s look at an example.

I’m not proud to admit it, but I’m actually a relatively poor listener, in large part because I often become distracted by whatever happens to be going on inside my head. My inattentiveness occurs frequently and in a variety of contexts. But instead of trying to address every situation in which I have trouble listening, I’m taking a baby step by setting the following goal:

                Goal:  I’d like to listen better during meetings at work.

If the baby step I’ve chosen isn’t small enough, then I can always scale it back. For example, instead of trying to listen better at all meetings, I could focus on one meeting that occurs weekly. As a basic rule, the more effortful and difficult a change is, the less likely we are to follow through on it. Change becomes more manageable when we focus on specific behaviors and take baby steps to build new habits.

Step 2 - Identify Key Stakeholders:  Key stakeholders play a critical role in augmenting both our motivation and ability to change. As a result, they can increase dramatically the likelihood that we follow through with our goals. Once we’ve decided what to change, the next step is to identify 3-5 key stakeholders who will help us change. There are two essential criteria for a key stakeholder. First, we have to value their opinion. Second, they have to be invested in helping us change. In my case, I’ve identified a total of five key stakeholders, including my boss, her boss, and three additional colleagues, all of whom have agreed to support me in becoming a better listener.

Step 3 - Ask For Suggestions:  Once you’ve identified your key stakeholders, ask them for suggestions on how you can change the behavior in question. More specifically, describe your goal, provide a little background on why you want to improve in the area identified, and then ask for their recommendations on how to do so. In my case, I asked for suggestions on how I can listen better during meetings at work. I received a number of helpful tips, including the following:  1) Take notes during meetings to keep myself engaged; 2) Offer one or two thoughtful comments during meetings to confirm for others that I’m listening; and 3) Practice mindfulness, observe when my attention shifts, and then redirect my focus back to the meeting.

Later in the process, you’ll ask your key stakeholders to rate your performance on the behavior in question. This initial meeting is a good time to request a baseline assessment, which sounds complicated but really is quite simple. An item like, “On a 7-point scale, please rate how well I currently listen during meetings,” will more than suffice. Using this type of item, simply collect a baseline score from each of your key stakeholders.

Step 4 - Put Together Your Action Plan:  After speaking with your key stakeholders, synthesize their recommendations into an action plan. Try not to overcomplicate it, and simply include 2-3 actions you plan to take in achieving your goal along with a timeline for execution. My action plan for listening better during meetings simply includes the three recommended actions listed above. It also specifies that I plan to implement the actions during the next 30 days, after which I’ll evaluate my progress to determine whether I’m ready to move on to another baby step.

Step 5 - Follow Up:  Follow up regularly with your key stakeholders to review your progress, solicit their feedback regarding your performance, and ask for suggestions regarding any challenges you’ve encountered. As a general recommendation, follow up with your key stakeholders every two weeks or so. The first point of follow up should be a review of your action plan. Ask your stakeholders to hold you accountable for following through with the plan.

Step 6 – Collect and Review Data:  Using the same item from the baseline assessment, ask your stakeholders to evaluate your performance on the behavior in question. In my case, I’ll collect this data after 30 days, as specified in my action plan. Have a conversation with each stakeholder to review your overall progress. If you’ve successfully built a new habit around the change in question, you’re ready to take another baby step, again using the process outlined here.

Remember, change is EASY once you have the right APPROACH.

12 Months, 12 New Habits: An Experiment in Self Improvement

Why is a bad habit so hard to break? In answering the question, think about all the forces that influence our behavior. Countless factors associated with the environment, our learning history, and our physiology combine to shape how we behave. Together, they maintain a resilient state of equilibrium that compels us to do the same things again and again. Disrupting that equilibrium is exceedingly difficult, and the larger the change we try to make, the more disruption is required. This is why baby steps are so essential to successful behavior change. The complex system that regulates our behavior will absorb a small change, but a more radical shift simply won’t be tolerated.

So this raises an interesting question. Can small changes make a big impact on the quality of our lives? After all, often the distance between where we are and where we want to be is considerable. How far can we really expect to get with baby steps? To answer that question, I’ve decided to conduct an experiment over the next 12 months. I’ll set three long-term goals, one professional, one personal, and one health-related. Each month, I’ll build one new habit for each of the three goals. I’ll report on my progress here, and after 12 months, we’ll see how far I’ve managed to get. Here are my long-term goals and the habits that I’ll build during the first month:

Long-Term Goals            

`               1.  Become a better listener at work

                2.  Devote more time and energy to my family

                3.  Lower my cholesterol

Month 1 Habits to Build

1.    Listen better during meetings at work

2.    Call my parents twice a week

3.    Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day

For each goal, I’ll try to build 12 new habits over the course of the next year. Stay tuned and I’ll let you know how things are going…