Understanding Willpower: Battery vs. Snowball Effect

In this episode of The Brainy Business podcast, Melina Palmer dives into the psychology of resolutions and the challenges of keeping commitments. As the New Year begins, many people find themselves struggling to maintain their resolutions, and Melina provides insights into why this happens and how to overcome it. She explores concepts from behavioral economics, including time discounting, anticipated regret, and counterfactual thinking, to understand the subconscious influences on our decision-making.

Melina discusses the importance of making future goals feel real and attainable, emphasizing the need for realistic planning and the power of visualization. She also touches on the dual nature of willpower, acting as both a battery and a snowball, and how understanding this can help in setting and achieving goals. Through practical tips and strategies, listeners are encouraged to focus on small, manageable changes and to anticipate and plan for errors along the way.

In this episode:

• Explore the concept of time discounting and how it impacts our ability to stick to resolutions.
• Learn about anticipated regret and how it can hinder decision-making and goal achievement.
• Understand the role of willpower as both a battery and a snowball in maintaining self-control.
• Discover strategies for making resolutions more achievable by focusing on small, realistic changes.
• Gain insights into how businesses can apply these concepts to better serve their customers and enhance engagement.

00:00:00 - Introduction Melina introduces the topic of resolutions and the challenges of keeping commitments.

00:04:00 - The Reality of Resolutions Discussion on why many people struggle to maintain New Year's resolutions and the psychology behind it.

00:10:00 - Time Discounting Introduction to the concept of time discounting and its impact on decision-making and goal-setting.

00:20:00 - Anticipated Regret and Counterfactual Thinking Exploration of how anticipated regret and counterfactual thinking influence our choices and behaviors.

00:30:00 - Willpower: Battery and Snowball Insights into the dual nature of willpower and how it affects our ability to maintain self-control.

00:35:00 - Practical Strategies for Success Tips for making resolutions more realistic and achievable through small, manageable changes.

00:40:00 - Conclusion What stuck with you while listening to the episode? What are you going to try? Come share it with Melina on social media -- you'll find her as @thebrainybiz everywhere and as Melina Palmer on LinkedIn.

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Get the Books Mentioned on (or related to) this Episode:

• Good Habits, Bad Habits, by Wendy Wood
• Indistractable, by Nir Eyal
• How to Change, by Katy Milkman
• Happier Hour, by Cassie Holmes
• Thinking Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman

Top Recommended Next Episode: Tapping into the Power of Habit (ep 368)

Already Heard That One? Try These: 

• Status Quo Bias (ep 376)
• Katy Milkman Interview (ep 151)
• Wendy Wood Interview (ep 428)
• Sludge (ep 384)
• Marcey Rader Interview (ep 323)

Other Important Links: 

Brainy Bites - Melina’s LinkedIn Newsletter