Carol Dweck explains truth about willpower and ego depletion (Reference HBR).
Psychological researchers have a name for the idea that willpower runs out as it is used: ego depletion. The theory is that willpower is connected to a limited reserve of mental energy, and once we run out of that energy, we’re more likely to lose self-control.
Recent studies suggest that we’ve been thinking about willpower all wrong, and that the theory of ego depletion may not be true. In fact, believing willpower is a limited resource can actually make it more limited. In a study conducted by Carol Dweck and her colleagues, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dweck concluded that signs of ego depletion were observed only in test subjects who believed willpower was a limited resource. Those participants who did not see willpower as finite did not show signs of ego depletion.
Questions - Is there a similar mechanism for your resistance to suffering - your happiness depletion capacity?
Connections