Overuse of Willpower Makes it Harder to Keep Doing It

If you're the Green Lantern, your only chance to defend the universe from evil extraterrestrial dangers is via sheer force of will. We place a high priority on willpower and tenacity. However, it must be restrained, and as the majority of us lack a strong ring of enigmatic origin, we must be cautious in how we employ that will power.

There is evidence to support the idea that willpower can wear out over time. If you exercise willpower in one situation, you won't have as much of it available in another. In one trial, participants were given access to a room that contained a bowl of radishes and a plate of freshly baked cookies. In contrast to the other group, one was instructed to consume solely the radishes. Both had a challenge to solve after that. In contrast to those who ate the cookies, those who employed willpower to avoid them persevered with the problem for an average of 19 minutes.

Here, the fundamental tenet is that mental effort is needed for willpower. Over time, it becomes surprisingly challenging to retain self-control and not exhaust your mental energy reserves. You can exercise less willpower the more energy you utilize. Other researchers who have carried out comparable studies and found no evidence of what they call "ego depletion" have challenged the notion, but the original researcher contends that follow-ups had problems with their techniques.