I enjoyed this article and the linked piece on willpower accumulating. I have for a long time felt intuitively that willpower is not a finite resource per se, and that the more I exercised it the more I had of it. Your way of expressing it as “everytime your willpower wins out, it has a greater chance to win out in the future” has been my experience.
Certainly there is also a sense in which limiting the amount of “mega tasty” things you have to decline on a daily basis is a good idea, because I do think if you constantly put yourself in a position to have to say to no to things that are very enticing, eventually you will fail.
Perhaps the most salient part of both this and the willpower article is the self-reflection part, which I think is actually at the root of the whole thing. For me, there is a distinct avoidance of any mindfulness of what is happening to me during these spirals. And for many, spirals are a repeating cycle that is connected to a longer term issue.
It’s difficult to talk about this stuff, because as you mention it is so subjective that your formulation of it may not resonate with most other people’s. I’ve often wondered to what extent these kinds of processes share key characteristics across populations and individuals, and reading your article I can at least say that my process mirrors yours in all of the important ways.
In terms of practicality, I have found the most important ‘mundane’ things that can help treat/prevent. death spirals (and foster willpower expression) are:
Sleep (non-negotiable, unless you have a baby)
Diet (specifically a strong avoidance of simple sugars, and regulation of meal times)
Exercise (that includes 3 hours weekly of zone 2 cardio, and some strength training in whatever format)
After that, it comes down to more complex things, like managing your phone use and protecting your mornings/start of day. Obviously a lot has and could be said about these things. But I appreciate the commentary nonetheless, as I think it’s important to describe even subjective processes.
I enjoyed this article and the linked piece on willpower accumulating. I have for a long time felt intuitively that willpower is not a finite resource per se, and that the more I exercised it the more I had of it. Your way of expressing it as “everytime your willpower wins out, it has a greater chance to win out in the future” has been my experience.
Certainly there is also a sense in which limiting the amount of “mega tasty” things you have to decline on a daily basis is a good idea, because I do think if you constantly put yourself in a position to have to say to no to things that are very enticing, eventually you will fail.
Perhaps the most salient part of both this and the willpower article is the self-reflection part, which I think is actually at the root of the whole thing. For me, there is a distinct avoidance of any mindfulness of what is happening to me during these spirals. And for many, spirals are a repeating cycle that is connected to a longer term issue.
It’s difficult to talk about this stuff, because as you mention it is so subjective that your formulation of it may not resonate with most other people’s. I’ve often wondered to what extent these kinds of processes share key characteristics across populations and individuals, and reading your article I can at least say that my process mirrors yours in all of the important ways.
In terms of practicality, I have found the most important ‘mundane’ things that can help treat/prevent. death spirals (and foster willpower expression) are:
Sleep (non-negotiable, unless you have a baby)
Diet (specifically a strong avoidance of simple sugars, and regulation of meal times)
Exercise (that includes 3 hours weekly of zone 2 cardio, and some strength training in whatever format)
After that, it comes down to more complex things, like managing your phone use and protecting your mornings/start of day. Obviously a lot has and could be said about these things. But I appreciate the commentary nonetheless, as I think it’s important to describe even subjective processes.