Affirmation #26
You Can Crash
What do you do when you have to start over again?
There are many metaphors for human willpower.
About ten years ago the hot metaphor for willpower among psychologists was a battery. Ego Depletion Theory, advanced by Dr. Roy Baumeister, treated willpower as a finite resource; one that could be spent only so much before it had to be recharged.
Baumeister’s theory has since fallen out of favor; the battery metaphor alone can’t capture the nature of willpower, so people rely on others as well. A few others I’ve seen:
- Force (“All obstacles broke under the sheer force of her will.”)
- Heat (“His eyes were burning with determination.”)
- Light (“She was laser-focused on her goals.”)
Metaphors are limited by nature, highlighting one aspect of a thing while obscuring others. The big question regarding metaphors isn’t whether they are correct. It is whether (and when, and how) they are useful.
For example, the “willpower is a battery” metaphor is useful when you are trying to economize commitments. It is less useful when you need to give a single, intense push to overcome a difficult barrier, like getting through the first few days without a cigarette.
