[acb-hsp] Self-Control Is Exhaustible

[Sharon Strzalkowski]

Good article, and worth remembering when we counselor types are asking 
people to consider making a change!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "peter altschul" <paltschul at centurytel.net>
To: "Acbhsp" <acb-hsp at acb.org>
Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010 11:07 PM
Subject: [acb-hsp] Self-Control Is Exhaustible


> Why Change Is So Hard: Self-Control Is Exhaustible
>  By: Dan HeathJune 2, 2010
>
>
>
> You hear something a lot about change: People won't change because they're 
> too
> lazy.  Well, I'm here to stick up for the lazy people.  In fact, I want to 
> argue
> that what looks like laziness is actually exhaustion.  The proof comes 
> from a
> psychology study that is absolutely fascinating.
>  So picture this: Students come into a lab.  It smells amazing-someone has 
> just
> baked chocolate-chip cookies.  On a table in front of them, there are two 
> bowls.
>  One has the fresh-baked cookies.  The other has a bunch of radishes. 
> Some of the
> students are asked to eat some cookies but no radishes.  Others are told 
> to eat
> radishes but no cookies, and while they sit there, nibbling on rabbit 
> food, the
> researchers leave the room -- which is intended to tempt them and is 
> frankly kind
> of sadistic.  But in the study none of the radish-eaters slipped -- they 
> showed
> admirable self-control.  And meanwhile, it probably goes without saying 
> that the
> people gorging on cookies didn't experience much temptation.
>  Then, the two groups are asked to do a second, seemingly unrelated
> task-basically a kind of logic puzzle where they have to trace out a 
> complicated
> geometric pattern without raising their pencil.  Unbeknownst to them, the 
> puzzle
> can't be solved.  The scientists are curious how long they'll persist at a
> difficult task.  So the cookie-eaters try again and again, for an average 
> of 19
> minutes, before they give up.  But the radish-eaters-they only last an 
> average of
> 8 minutes.  What gives?
>  The answer may surprise you: They ran out of self-control.  Psychologists 
> have
> discovered that self-control is an exhaustible resource.  And I don't mean
> self-control only in the sense of turning down cookies or alcohol, I mean 
> a
> broader sense of self-supervision-any time you're paying close attention 
> to your
> actions, like when you're having a tough conversation or trying to stay 
> focused
> on a paper you're writing.  This helps to explain why, after a long hard 
> day at
> the office, we're more likely to snap at our spouses or have one drink too
> many-we've depleted our self-control.
>  And here's why this matters for change: In almost all change situations, 
> you're
> substituting new, unfamiliar behaviors for old, comfortable ones, and that 
> burns
> self-control.  Let's say I present a new morning routine to you that 
> specifies
> how you'll shower and brush your teeth.  You'll understand it and you 
> might even
> agree with my process.  But to pull it off, you'll have to supervise 
> yourself
> very carefully.  Every fiber of your being will want to go back to the old 
> way of
> doing things.  Inevitably, you'll slip.  And if I were uncharitable, I'd 
> see you
> going back to the old way and I'd say, You're so lazy.  Why can't you just
>  change?
> This brings us back to the point I promised I'd make: That what looks like
> laziness is often exhaustion.  Change wears people out-even 
> well-intentioned
> people will simply run out of fuel.
>  Copyright B) 2010 Mansueto Ventures LLC.  All rights reserved.
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