In the groundbreaking tradition of Getting Things Done, The Willpower Instinct combines life-changing prescriptive advice and complementary exercises to help readers with goals ranging from losing weight to more patient parenting, less procrastination, better health, and greater productivity at work. Willpower failures are contagious-you can catch the desire to overspend or overeat from your friends-but you can also catch self-control from the right role models. Giving up control is sometimes the only way to gain self-control.

Guilt and shame over your setbacks lead to giving in again, but self-forgiveness and self-compassion boost self-control. Temptation and stress hijack the brain's systems of self-control, but the brain can be trained for greater willpower Too much self-control can actually be bad for your health. Willpower is not an unlimited resource. It is a biological function that can be improved through mindfulness, exercise, nutrition, and sleep. Willpower is a mind-body response, not a virtue. Using science to explain the why and strategies for the how, McGonigal has created a must-read for anyone who wants to change how they live in both small and big ways. Informed by the latest research and combining cutting-edge insights from psychology, economics, neuroscience, and medicine, The Willpower Instinct explains exactly what willpower is, how it works, and why it matters. The Willpower Instinct is a new kind of self-help book. She is the author of The Upside of Stress (Penguin Random House/Avery 2015), The Willpower Instinct(Penguin/Avery 2012), Yoga for Pain Relief (New Harbinger 2009), and The Neuroscience of Change: A Compassion-Based Guide to Personal Transformation (Sounds True Audio, 2012).Based on Stanford University psychologist Kelly McGonigal's wildly popular course 'The Science of Willpower,' The Willpower Instinct is the first book to explain the science of self-control and how it can be harnessed to improve our health, happiness, and productivity. Her teaching and writing focus on the applications of psychological science to personal health and happiness, as well as public policy and social change.

Kelly McGonigal, PhD, is a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University, an award-winning science journalist, and a leading expert on the mind-body relationship. She is the author of The Upside of Stress (Penguin Random House/Avery 2015), The Willpower Instinct(Penguin/Avery 2012), Yoga for Pain Relief (New Harbinger 2009), and The Neuroscience of Change: A Compassion-Based Guide to Personal Transformation (Sounds True Audio, 2012).

The willpower instinct