Willpower and Habit Formation Simply Explained
And how to build more of both
Imagine a small pool of water against a white background. Into the pool trickles a gentle stream. Now imagine that beside you, laying on the floor, rests a sturdy bucket and beside the bucket, a humble tablespoon.
If one required the water in the pool to serve a different purpose, say, filling an adjacent water tank, it would be tempting to use the largest implement possible to transfer it — the bucket.
This is what Person A opts for.
Initial progress is quick, as they repeatedly lift the bucket to and froe. Alas, Person A soon realises the costs associated with their chosen implement.
Their arms grow heavy from the repeated strain. More pressingly, they notice that the pool from which they are drawing is gradually retreating. The rate at which water is being drawn simply cannot be replenished by the gentle stream trickling into it.
Either Person A lifts until they are completely exhausted, or the water is depleted, as the trickle is unable to supply what is being drawn from the pool. So, inevitably, Person A gives up.
Person B opts for the spoon. Progress is far slower than it was for Person A. Afterall, the spoon holds a fraction of the carrying capacity of the…
