Description

‘Immensely rewarding…filled with ingenious research, wise advice and insightful reflections on the human condition’ New York Times Book Review

Can you resist everything except temptation? In a hedonistic age full of distractions, it’s hard to possess willpower – or in fact even understand why we should need it. Yet it’s actually the most important factor in achieving success and a happy life, shown to be more significant than money, looks, background or intelligence. This book reveals the secrets of self-control.

Here, Roy Baumeister, one of the world’s most esteemed and influential psychologists, and journalist John Tierney, turn this notion on its head. They show us that willpower is like a muscle that can be strengthened with practice and improved over time. Based on years of psychological research and filled with practical advice, this book will teach you how to gain from self-control without pain, and discover the very real power in willpower. The results are nothing short of life-changing.

Publisher Review

Willpower rather than self-esteem is the essential ingredient for a successful life...The good news, according to the authors, is that willpower, unlike intelligence, is a muscle that can be exercised and encouraged to grow...The book's success in America underlines its timeliness...I suspect that all the politicians currently talking about "alarm-clock Britain" will be studying this book closely...people could benefit from reading this book -- Daisy Goodwin * Sunday Times * A Guardian 2012 Literary Highlight * Guardian * Deep and provocative analysis of people's battle with temptation and masterful insights into understanding willpower: why we have it, why we don't, and how to build it. A terrific read -- Ravi Dhar, Yale School of Management, Director of Center for Customer Insights This is a manual from heaven for anyone who has ever wanted to lose weight, stop smoking, drink less, work more efficiently and more intelligently. An astonishingly good -- and accessible -- inquiry into one of the more elusive areas of human psychology -- Christopher Buckley, author 'Thank You for Smoking' and 'Losing Mum and Pup' This little masterpiece is a must read for all of us who want to exercise, diet, manage our time, be thrifty, and resist temptation -- Martin Seligman, University of Pennsylvania, former president of American Psychological Association, author of 'Authentic Happiness and Flourish' As wonderfully entertaining as it is enlightening! Tierney and Baumeister have produced a highly intelligent work full of fascinating information (and great advice) about a core element of modern living. Bravo -- David Allen, author of 'Getting Things Done and Making It All Work' Willpower is sinfully delicious -- once you start reading, you won't be able to stop. A fascinating account of the exciting new science of self-control -- Daniel Gilbert, Harvard University, author of 'Stumbling On Happiness' Willpower affects almost every aspect of our lives...Tierney and Baumeister have given us a wonderful book in which they not only share fascinating research on the subject but also provide simple tricks to help us tap into this important quality -- Dan Ariely, Duke University, author of 'Predictably Irrational' An accessible, empirically grounded guide to willpower and how best to deploy it to overcome temptation...Should one need a more practical sales pitch for the importance of willpower, Messrs. Baumeister and Tierney point to ... its over-riding importance for academic, personal, career and financial success... Willpower offers no shortage of helpful strategies to compensate for weakness of will -- Cordelia Fine * Wall Street Journal * [An] instant classic...[Willpower shows how]...recent research can help people lead better lives - be better parents, stay organized, and lose weight more wisely...[A] brilliant book -- Jamie Holmes * Daily Beast * Willpower (the thing) lies at the curious intersection of science and behavior. Willpower (the book) lies at the intersection of Roy Baumeister, an extraordinarily creative scientist, and John Tierney, a phenomenally perceptive journalist. Ignore it at your peril -- Stephen J. Dubner, coauthor of 'Freakonomics' and 'SuperFreakonomics'