Book SummaryWillpower Doesn't Work, by Benjamin Hardy

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Willpower Doesn't Work

Modern society teaches us that we can accomplish anything through willpower and discipline—but what if that’s the wrong approach? In Willpower Doesn’t Work, psychologist Benjamin Hardy says that willpower is nowhere near as strong as people think, and that’s why we can’t just “will” our way to success. Instead, we need to carefully design our lives in ways that make reaching our goals inevitable, minimizing the need for willpower.

Hardy is best known as the author of several best-selling self-help books, including Willpower Doesn’t Work and Personality Isn’t Permanent. He’s also, along with entrepreneurial coach Dan Sullivan, the co-author of such popular...

Willpower Doesn't Work Summary The Problem: Willpower Is Weaker Than You Think

Hardy begins by explaining that many people think of willpower like a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Therefore, they believe that the way to accomplish anything—from landing your dream job, to losing weight, to overcoming addiction—is to work hard and keep training your discipline. Also, the main reason people give for falling short of their goals is a lack of willpower.

(Shortform note: Hardy discusses willpower at length, but never explicitly defines it. Willpower is the ability to control yourself; to choose a course of action and follow through on it, even if it’s difficult or unpleasant. For example, sticking to a diet is often seen as an act of willpower, as is working hard at a stressful job. Determination,...

Willpower Doesn't Work Summary The Solution: Design Environments That Force You to Succeed

If you can’t rely on willpower, how do you achieve your goals?

Hardy says the key is to create an environment that forces you to become the person you want to be. This is a better approach because, while humans aren’t as strong-willed as we like to think, we are excellent at adapting to our environments. We’re also uniquely good at changing our environments; adapting our surroundings to meet our needs. Therefore, Hardy says that you can accomplish anything by using these two natural strengths in tandem.

In short, you can intentionally adapt your environment in ways that, in turn, force you to adapt. To give a simple example, you could try leaving your cell phone charger at work. This tactic would strictly limit how much time you spend on your phone at home, with no willpower needed on your part; your phone’s battery would set a hard limit on how much you can use it.

(Shortform note: As the author noted earlier, the idea that willpower is unreliable goes against the popular belief that you can achieve anything through discipline and determination. However, some other recent theories are even more extreme: For instance, neurologist...

Willpower Doesn't Work Summary Tip #1: Force Yourself Toward Your Goals

Hardy says that, ideally, your environment will force you toward your goals without the need for willpower and discipline. In a well-designed environment, you’ll accomplish your goals simply because you don’t have any other choice. Hardy says that you can do this using self-imposed restrictions called forcing functions.

(Shortform note: Hardy’s language here is a bit sensationalized, since it’s usually not possible to create situations where you literally have no choice besides working toward a goal. It would be more accurate to say that forcing functions force your attention to go where you want it to. In other words, setting appropriate restrictions or commitments for yourself doesn’t actually force you to take action, but it does force you to think about what you want to achieve and what the consequences will be if you don’t achieve it. This minimizes the need for willpower because you’ll be motivated by your...

Willpower Doesn't Work Summary Tip #2: Remove Temptations

While Hardy’s first tip was to identify ways to push yourself toward your goals, his second tip is to remove anything that doesn’t get you closer to your goals. This is important because, by doing so, you’ll eliminate temptations that drain your limited reserves of willpower. Therefore, Hardy says you should identify what in your environment is helping you, and ruthlessly get rid of everything else.

In this section we’ll discuss how to minimize the technological temptations in your life, how to minimize the temptations that come from other people, and (briefly) how to minimize the various other temptations you regularly face.

Remove Technological Temptations

One of the biggest temptations in your life is probably technology, particularly your phone. While you’re trying to work, your phone is a source of constant, endless temptations ranging from social media to videos and games. And while you’re trying to rest, it’s a source of stress because it allows people to contact you and make demands on your time and energy.

Hardy says you can eliminate many of these temptations by identifying which phone apps really help you to either work or relax and deleting...

Willpower Doesn't Work Summary Tip #3: Optimize Your Mental Environment

So far we’ve discussed your working and resting environments, but it’s also important to optimize your mental “environment”—which is to say, your thoughts and habits.

Intentionally Redirect Your Thoughts

One way Hardy suggests optimizing your mental environment is by anticipating and counteracting thoughts that could make you fall short of your goals. In other words, expect yourself to fail, but use that expectation to put a plan in place so you can avoid that failure.

For example, suppose that your goal is to eat healthier, but you know you have a sweet tooth that could derail that goal. You might set the following plan: “The next time I’m craving sweets, I’ll eat an apple instead.” Hardy calls this an implementation intention.

Implementation intentions are essentially if-then statements, even when they’re not worded that way. So, the previous example could be rephrased as “If I have a sugar craving, then I will eat an apple.”

(Shortform note: Implementation intentions are relatively simple yet highly effective. An analysis of 94 studies on this topic found that this technique had a [moderate to strong effect on achieving...

Shortform Exercise: Start Designing Your Environment for Success

Now that you’re familiar with Hardy’s ideas about willpower and your environment, take some time to think about how you could implement some of his principles. Consider how you could design your work and rest environments to push you toward your goals and minimize the need for willpower.

What’s one way you could modify your work environment to push yourself toward one of your goals? Remember that Hardy’s three main strategies for adding pressure are challenging goals, consequences for failure, and new experiences.