How to Overcome Personal Flaws and Set Up Systems That Support Success

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The book is about how to overcome our personal shortcomings, the personality traits we might have that keep us from getting to where we want to be. The author talks about two different strategies for tackling willpower problems: the carrot and the stick. "We aren't good at pushing through," he says of people who think they can just do it. 'I'm going to grin and bear it'

Behavioral scientist Katy Milkman of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania talks about her book How to Change with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. What can we learn from research in psychology and behavioral economics about breaking the habits we want to change? Is that research reliable? And should Russ Roberts accept being overweight or keep working at finding the thinner man trying to get out?