I was about to make an immature comment; but i exerted my self control, and made a pointless statement instead

For those frustrated with the quality of the video, or impatient to sit it through or being distracted by the physical appearance of the speaker - as so many seem to be, looking at the comments - here's a summary 0. intro: science doesn't only provide solutions, it changes the way we think 1. desire is not linked with happiness; people, like rats, are willing to endure stress and pain in order to keep the brain center of desire active; we need to be conscious that our desire, our "wanting reward", is never going to be satisfied 2. will power is not a measure of virtue; it is like a muscle and can be trained; moreover, training will power in one area (example: using the non-dominant hand) increases the capacity to focus and assess one's actions, with effects on unreleated areas (partner abuse) 3. guilt and shame are NOT motivators to do better next time, on the contrary; e.g. shame for breaking diet leads to more binging as a consolation; instead one should be self compassionate, forgive the misstep and move on or start over 4. we don't need to work on bigger issues like anger, anxiety or guilt first, before we can change or behavior; the opposite is true: changing behavior reduces the overall feeling of anxiety; 5. very important: our anxieties and behaviors don't define us, we are not unique in having them; they show that we are a normal human, because with focus comes distraction and with courage comes anxiety; let go of the egocentric "this is me" and it will be much easier to change

Very insightful. I wish someone had told me these things when I was younger. If this kind of thing were taught in school, society would be much better off.

This is awesome!! 15 Minutes of your time that could help you break away from Addictions or become more awesome!!! Love it.

The Science of Willpower Takeaways: 1. Don't mistake wanting (and what leads to addiction) for happiness. - Learn to distinguish desire from happiness. - Mindfulness meditation can help you see the huge gap between the two. 2. Willpower is not a measure of your virtue. - Do not associate having a weak or no willpower with not being virtuous, not being good, or being sinful. - Willpower is simply the ability to do what we set out to do, e.g. acting in alignment with our values and long-term goals. 3. The best way to think about willpower: It's like a muscle that you can build by training, by doing difficult and uncomfortable things. - Each step you take teaches your brain how to exert self-control. - Even small willpower workouts can teach the brain to tackle much larger impulses and challenges. 4. Don't use guilt and shame as motivation. - Don't beat yourself up for a mistake. - Based on the science of self-compassion, thr faster you forgive your self, the faster your remember your goals and you are more likely to achieve them. 5. Myth: We need to change something inside of us before we can make any lasting change in our behavior. - The science says that the more you resist your inner experiences, the stronger they get. - It's paradoxical, but the ONLY way to change them is to accept them and then change your behavior first. 5. Realize that there's no uniquely wrong with you if you're not able to tackle impulses, temptations, procrastination, etc. - We live in a human body with a human mind (and other biological aspects) that makes us want things. - So don't beat your self up. Have more compassion for your self and others.

The information being presented is absolutely fantastic and has helped me enormously. However, through recently reading about Buddhism philosophy, I realized that these willpower concepts being proposed by scientific research, has been taught by the Buddhist for centuries! It's a shame that the western society has ignored their teachings for so long because it was not originally founded on science.

Brilliantly said. Just one talk covers so much that we should know about how to live our lives to the fullest and learn to enjoy it

The lady has intelligence, beauty, charisma, empathy and compassion in abundance!

I really like it when she's illuminated by the #2 text in bright white letters at the 08:20 mark. I think I'll watch this over and over again. This is pretty good and convinced me to read her book. Turns out guilt begets backsliding. Don't tell my mother.

When production quality was bad but content was good.

Yes, I agree, her book has lots of interesting research that I personally have not seen in other books. Good stuff especially the stuff on HRV.

Very insightful. Willpower can only be achieved without guilt and the idea that procrastination can be mitigated thru training is exactly what most modern psychologists would propose. Shame is a crutch and ridding yourself of it will allow people to achieve their true potential and desires.

One of my favorites worth re watching for sure

Read her book, it's super fantastic awesome as hell.

Thank you Kelly, It was important, timely and sooooo very helpful. r

Will there ever be any satisfaction, that one may view or hear in its entirety WITHOUT the mindless interruption(s) of DRM, these excellent presentations, and others with similarly enlightening insights? I pray the RIAA grants us relief from future frustration.

I think this is an underrated Ted talk

Her book is a great read! Well worth the time :)

behavioral psychology is just naturally interesting.

Her book (The Willpower Instinct) is excellent.

wonderful talk

Bloody Great Talk

Next time you feel an urge, don't try to push it out, just experience the feeling and stay focused on rational thinking.

@ 9:27, reminds me of using anchors in NLP to invoke or revoke a habbit or mindset.

Well said!

I love her.

I lost my willpower to continue watching as soon as the video starts. I can't stand the echoey sound.

Excellent lecture, very insightful. Thank you!

Concept of willpower is different among those who believe in freewill. We can't control our thoughts without creating choices through our Will and intellect.

I agree and she has a brilliant mind aswell. What a combination! :)

I love willpower for you.

The camera man has a crush for this gal. Nothing else can explain first 6 minutes of horrible closeup shot.

Will Power is forced self effort, and finite in supply. It begets shame to the weak, and pride to the strong, and failure to all.

Good Content Thank You Tedx Mistake wanting for happiness Musc Don't beat yourself up. Forgive urself Chan inner Or we can juz change beh firs

Wow that's dope

Because she's smart.

Work sent me here

"Beauty AND brains; A deadly combination"

Very cool

I love you!

Sorry, I gave it my best shot but at 2:28 hit the pause button. I could not make out what she was saying; sounded like she was talking into a tin can instead of a mike. Too bad, because from the reviews it sounds like I missed something worthwhile.

Dilemma: 95% reinforced suffering for making good or bad decisions, 5% happiness for making good or bad decisions. Result: Don't piss off the rat with your rigged games. He always seems better off minding his own business at 50/50 before he started.

The sound is lousy.

really good presentation!..other evidence to what shes talking bout>2000 yr old book.the Bible

thanks, oh yeah, hap t day eve

No closed captioning, an echo and her form in shadow and/or dark, make it impossible for deaf/hearing impaired to access this Ted Talk. Very disappointed

Shes hot and this is all true, i just had to do a degree and this completely applies to the whole procrastination thing "Ohh i cant work now i feel like shit, I'll do something i like until i feel better, so when i feel better i can work" haha thats exactly what i did so much of the time. Just gotta treat yourself right, get on your own team and find what works for you. Structure helps massively as well. If you say you will exercise mon tues thurs and stick to it it beats doing it spontaneously

you simply use willpower to create positive habits so you don't have to use so much willpower ... repeat.. simple.. (ps. you spell the word separate.. not seperate..

I would lose my control to this woman ..

Yeah, she's smokin'! Then I gave my brain an electric shock, and all was satisfied.

Great talk. Bad production.

Project go

God i love beautiful smart women! Lucky to have been born!

Yet here I am still using my phone Trying to drop YT, ect

she's a baaabbeee

Clearly most people in the comments section have very little brain to deal with, sadly.

If i was in hogwarts , she would be my prof :)

holy f

khazaR hun science fear GotaMa

Sorry but I cannot *hear her clearly... POOR SOUND !!! Plus why are you standing in shadow, it’s distracting all this hand shadow movement. 🤭

Willpower can go beyond science. The world is your oyster if you think hard enough

- The rat story is traumatic - The sound is bad - She's obstructing the projector Too many uncharacteristic off-putting aspects about this TedTalk. The message is lost somewhere in between the chaos.

Video is old af

I honestly don't find any cream/sweet attractive.

Sounds like drugs to me.

very insightful...she's hot as well

Interesting topic, but speaker put me to sleep literally. Needs more enthusiasm.

\Yeup. I totally want to marry her.

Interesting subject, but she has terrible presentation skills - standing in front the screen, blocking the visual. Ahhhh....i find this distracting...utterly terrible.