Flex Your Mental Muscle

Just like strengthening any part of your body, building your willpower takes training.

- Brad Stulberg

You see it all the time on social media: quotes like “You are stronger than you realise” and “Your body can stand almost anything – it’s your mind that you have to convince”. As cliché as they may sound, there’s truth in those mantras. Science shows that we may give up during a workout because we think our bodies can’t handle it. It’s that moment when your muscles are burning and your lungs feel like they’re on fire. You tell yourself, “I just need a quick break,” allowing your legs to slow and heart rate to drop. Only afterwards do you realise that you probably could have pushed through the doubts.

That right there is proof that your willpower muscle could benefit from additional training. It’s just like any physical muscle – neglecting to use it causes atrophy, which makes it that much harder to call upon when you actually need it.

“Willpower needs to be trained. The more you have, the more you can overcome mental fatigue and psychological challenges to become a better runner,” says Dr Nathan DeWall, a professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky, who studies self regulation.