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Self-Control: Why a lack of it isn\u2019t your fault, plus 6 tools to improve it. If you find you have a lack of willpower to do what you know is best for you when it matters the most, this is a podcast for you. I will go into the reasons why as well as a few tools to help you make progress. The episode is divided into three parts: 1.\tThe science behind low-willpower and its effects on your life. 2.\tGeneral Causes of Low-Willpower. 3.\tTools to Improve Your Lack of it, starting today. Willpower is a particular kind of energy to exert control. With low-willpower comes a whole lot of badness. It compromises your ability to follow rules, reduces your emotional control, increases anger, anxiety, how well you do at school, the amount of traffic accidents you have, how popular you are, how successful you are. Most relevant: it\u2019s a finite reservoir \u2013 so if you\u2019re using it throughout the day, you tap it out. And unfortunately you can\u2019t tell when your willpower is depleted but it\u2019s worn down throughout the day. So universally, you have the most of it in the morning. The energy for willpower is linked to your body\u2019s natural energy supply. That\u2019s why dieting is a catch-22. You need energy to have willpower. Not to mention: The more you diet, the more your body learns to resist dieting. That\u2019s why the amount of self-control you have has a large effect on work and school, but a small effect on dieting. So if you suffer most from a lack of willpower when it comes to food, fill yourself up with healthy food so your body has fuel to supply willpower. And most importantly: use the strength you have to accomplish one task at a time. When you split your energy to two different habit changes, you are likely to fail. For example, dieters are less able to quit smoking. Can\u2019t do two things at once. It\u2019s a finite increment of energy inside of you at all times so if you are dealing with managing a lot of pain \u2013 let\u2019s say you are stressed or in pain, emotionally, you will likely have a huge problem stopping yourself from snacking in front of the tv at night. Picture yourself swatting away flies all day long. At the end of the day you\u2019re going to be exhausted and likely slow down, even giving up and allowing lots of them to land. When you\u2019re depleted, you also become more aggressive. When you have more of this energy / glucose you become less aggressive. Hence road rage! Most importantly, if you suffer from low-willpower, don\u2019t be mad at yourself \u2013 help yourself and support your own ability to do what you know is best for yourself! Xox Sarah May B. For more of my writing and the blog version of this posting, visit http://www.TeaspoonOfHappy.com\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices