I tried the “willpower-only-exists-if-you-believe-it” thing.
But I felt the drain anyway. Some tasks drain you more than others. The afternoon costs more than the morning. The night costs more than the afternoon.
Stanford researchers Veronika Job and Carol Dweck found that people who think willpower is unlimited show less depletion than people who think it’s limited. Henry Ford put it bluntly: “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.” Self-help shelves have echoed this for decades.
Some things bend to belief. Some things do not. You hurt yourself (or worse) by pretending otherwise.
I’ve found that willpower is one of those real things. It’s a battery. It drains. It dies.
Enjoyment = Efficiency
When I enjoy a task, I burn less willpower. When I hate a task, I burn more willpower.
If willpower were truly infinite, enjoyment wouldn’t matter. Neither would time of day.
The battery doesn’t care what you believe.
🪫
“What task should you do first while your battery is full?”
