If willpower is the overlooked muscle to get healthy, why does it get a bad rap?

It’s not all about habits.

Because it’s hard. We can engineer the right choices with environment, social pressure, habits, and other techniques. But sometimes, we have to power through with willpower.

Willpower is often overlooked and underestimated in the realm of health and prevention, but it might just be the secret sauce in the recipe for lasting health behavior change. But what exactly is willpower, and why does it play such a crucial role in our journey towards a healthier lifestyle?

Willpower is self-control or self-regulation: our ability to resist short-term temptations and impulses to achieve long-term goals. It’s the mental strength that allows us to choose a salad over a burger, lace up our running shoes instead of clicking on the Netflix app, or opt for a good night’s sleep rather than scrolling endlessly through social media.

Don’t think of willpower as a character train but rather a cognitive muscle that can strengthened over time. You might have heard of Psychologist Roy Baumeister — they introduced the concept of “ego depletion,” suggesting that willpower is a limited resource that can be exhausted with too many decisions. However, this is now being questioned. A 2016 meta-analysis published in Psychological Science failed to replicate the ego depletion effect, suggesting that willpower might be more resilient than previously thought. It makes you wonder exactly how many psychological studies fail replication…

The fact is health behavior change isn’t all about habits; social support, education, and willpower are still a foundational element to behavior change and health outcomes. Remember that super cute famous “marshmallow experiment” conducted by Walter Mischel in the 1960s? It found a strong correlation between childhood self-control and adult health outcomes. Children able to delay gratification had better physical health, lower substance dependence, higher SAT scores, and better social skills as adults.

A 2015 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that people with higher self-control had better cardiovascular health in midlife. The study, which followed over 1,000 individuals from birth to age 45, found that those with higher self-control in childhood had lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels, and lower body mass index in adulthood.

The statistics show a clear picture of the importance of willpower in health behavior change:

1. According to a 2019 survey by the American Psychological Association, lack of willpower was the top reason (33% of respondents) people cited for not following through with lifestyle changes.
2. The World Health Organization estimates that 80% of premature heart disease, stroke, and diabetes could be prevented through healthy behaviors that require consistent application of willpower.
3. A study published in Health Psychology found that individuals who believed willpower was a limited resource were more likely to eat junk food and procrastinate when stressed.

Willpower is a muscle. And, like any muscle, you can strengthen it with practice. I’ll give you just 3 ways right now:

1. Mindfulness Meditation: A 2016 study found that just three hours of mindfulness meditation practice led to increased self-control.
2. Regular Exercise: Physical exercise has been shown to improve executive function, including self-control. I realize the catch-22 here. It takes some degree of willpower to start exercising.
3. Sleep is crucial for willpower. Poor sleep and recovery impair decision-making and lead to more impulsive and risk-taking behaviors like eating late at night, drinking too much, or skipping the morning exercise routine.

The Ripple Effect of Willpower

As you strengthen your ability to make healthier choices, you create a positive ripple effect in our communities. Parents modeling self-control can influence their children’s future health behaviors. Workplaces that support employee wellbeing can see increased productivity and reduced healthcare costs.

As more people prioritize health-promoting behaviors, it can lead to broader market changes. For instance, increased demand for healthier food options influences product trends and policy decisions.

For health behavior change, willpower emerges as the force that propels us forward when motivation wanes, the quiet strength that helps us resist temptation, and the thing that picks us up when we stumble.

Remember, every time you choose the stairs over the elevator, opt for water instead of soda or prioritize sleep over late-night screen time, you’re not just making a healthy choice — you’re flexing and strengthening your willpower muscle.