Willpower is defined as "energetic determination." It's a state of mind born of a desire to improve or change something we do, and that can be a good thing. But it's all too easy to treat willpower like a magic spell - just believe that your state of mind is enough to make you change behaviors or resist temptation and "poof!" all desire to eat that bag of Fritos disappears. (We wish!)

We also tend to get the wrong idea about willpower, thinking it's the key to weight control and that if we don't have enough of it, we're doomed. Think about the last time you decided to cut back on junk food. Did you think that "energetic determination" (better known as willpower) would help you stay the course? When you failed, did you think "I just don't have enough willpower"? Actually, your willpower was never going to be enough in the first place; a different approach is needed. And here's why:

Studies testing the durability and dependability of willpower to change behaviors, to avoid temptations, or to tackle major projects have shown that willpower is a diminishing resource.

Through a number of tests in a variety of situations, researchers at Case Western Reserve University concluded that you cannot employ willpower for too long or for too many tasks because it does not remain constant, but in fact weakens with use. They showed that the strength of willpower diminishes in direct proportion to how much it is used and that the more an individual relies on willpower, the less available it becomes. Given these findings, it is easy to see why the ability to consistently say no is so short-lived.