Breathe
By Mariel Cabanas
In 1970, Walter Mischel, a psychologist and professor at Stanford University, conducted an experiment studying the capacity for self-control in 4-year-old children. The test consisted of presenting an offer to each child: choose between eating a marshmallow immediately, or waiting 15 minutes and having two marshmallows later.
The implications of the experiment were reflected years later when they found that those children who were able to contain their craving for the treat for 15 minutes did better academically in adolescence, appeared to have better stress management skills and experienced fewer social adjustment problems.
Kathleen Martin Ginis, doctor and professor at McMaster University in Canada, states that human beings have a finite dose of willpower per day; some are born with more and others with less, and she assures that when we exhaust it in some specific activity, we are much more likely to fall into temptation; that is, after a heavy day of work (which demands a high amount of self-control by focusing our attention for long periods), we are more likely to have a hamburger for dinner instead of a salad.
Many scientists point out that the lack of willpower is not due to the absence of motivation, but to the poor use and distribution of our reserves of daily self-control, which makes us break our diet at the end of the day, or postpone exercise.
Daniel Kahneman, psychologist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002, in his book "Thinking Fast and Slow" describes the way of thinking under two modes of operation, System 1, which is fast, operates automatically, with little or no effort and with no notion of voluntary control; and System 2, which handles activities that demand a complex mental process, associating concentration and decision making.
Kahneman states that both self-control and cognitive effort are forms of mental work associated with System 2. People who have a high cognitive demand when performing a task and are simultaneously forced to make a decision are more inclined to make the decision that requires less effort. Example: if you try to memorize a 7-digit number, while having to decide between a delicious dessert or a fruit, scientific evidence suggests that you are more likely to choose the dessert because System 1 (impulsive, automatic, and without voluntary control) takes over the situation while System 2 is busy memorizing numbers.
But memorizing numbers and cognitive tasks are not the only way to weaken System 2, where self-control resides. Alcohol, lack of sleep, poor diet, among others, are added to the list.
His conclusion is blunt: self-control requires attention and effort.
Roy F. Baumeister in his book "Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength" confirms these theories by saying that when a person spends a long time controlling an impulse, such as not yawning in front of the boss during a long work meeting, he then faces a period of exhaustion of willpower, and that is the most dangerous moment in terms of self-control, and we must be aware that this is when we are most vulnerable.
In general, he concludes, those who achieve greater self-control are better able to overcome critical life events, handle stress with greater skill and are able to face study or work days, which makes them people with greater potential for learning and growth.
In all of this, I ask myself, what hope do I have if I was a 4 year old unable to contain myself before a marshmallow or if my System 2 has already exhausted the day's reserves in a cognitive task? What hope do I have if I was born with few reserves of self-control? How strong and voluntary is "willpower"?
Other research, much more encouraging, gives us hope, and assures us that there are ways to increase and strengthen our will. Very wise for the beginning of the year in favor of our New Year's resolutions.
Kurt Gray of the University of North Carolina refers to modern-day "superheroes" and associates their "super-powers" with extremely high reserves of will and self-control. Mother Teresa subjected herself to precarious sanitary conditions, risking her health, while caring for the poor, sick, orphaned and dying; and Gandhi endured long periods of fasting in the peaceful pursuit of his country's liberation.
We all want to have self-control and change the world, but how do we do that if sometimes we can't even wake up earlier to go to the gym? questions Gray, who suggests that we probably have the wrong order in the equation. People like Mother Teresa and Gandhi were not necessarily born with a greater dose of willpower that helps them in their labors; rather, it is their labors (doing good and having a good cause) that makes them stronger, motivates them and increases their reserves of willpower and self-control.
Gray has done many experiments that corroborate his theory, and he claims that if we donate a dollar a day, we can increase our self-control in physical strength work by up to 20% and that if we donate a few coins in the morning, we will be better able to avoid the donut in the office in the middle of the day.
The good news is that we are not predestined to settle for a certain, finite amount of willpower with which we are born, but that we are also born with the option and capacity to increase it.
But there is more. Willpower, says Baumeister, is like a muscle that strengthens or weakens depending on how we exercise it, "things as small as making an effort to be tidy, sitting upright in a chair or always speaking in complete sentences, help us to strengthen our willpower to perform better, both at work and at home".
There are also ways to replenish our reserves when they are running low, such as: rest, positive attitude, healthy eating and even a little glucose, which is food for the brain.
In conclusion, if we want to strengthen the will, we must:
- Practicing charity and good deeds not only helps others but also strengthens our will;
- Become aware and plan our day, avoiding vulnerable situations in which we can put at risk our capacity for self-control and with it, our purposes or goals. Voluntarily restricting access to temptation is more effective than facing it (and less demanding of reserves); and
- Remember that by making small efforts of will, we strengthen our abilities, which gives us greater power to face temptations and achieve greater challenges and fulfill the year's resolutions.
* Mariel Cabanas Suárez has a law degree from the Universidad Iberoamericana, a Master's degree in Business Law from the Universidad Panamericana and participated in the Senior Management Program at IPADE. She has studies in Leadership and Gender Equity and has 23 years of experience as a lawyer in the financial sector. She co-founded Abogadas MX, a civil society organization that promotes the inclusion and professional development of women in the legal profession, which she chaired for the 2020-2022 period. She is a member and fellow of the International Women's Forum.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
More than 150 opinions from 100 columnists await you for less than one book per month.
Comments ()