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Willpower is an important skill that we can harness and use to our advantage.
It is a key ingredient for success, and the foundation for building good habits and avoiding or breaking bad ones.
When we’ve harnessed our willpower, we experience more happiness in all areas of our life.
If you’re looking for resources on willpower, you can check out a couple of posts here and here.
In addition, you can read today’s article for our recommendations of the best willpower books to help you understand the science and art of this life skill.
These books are a cut above the rest, and full of information backed by science. Many have actionable strategies that can help you reach new levels of personal improvement.
Here are our top picks for today.
1. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
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If you’re looking for a book to help you understand how habits are formed, why it’s hard to change your habits, and how habits can deeply impact your life, this is the title for you.
In The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Businessyou’ll learn that habits have three main parts:
When we are able to recognize these three parts, we are also better equipped to master our habits (especially bad habits) instead of allowing them to take over our lives.
Throughout this book, Charles Duhigg presents a helpful thesis that explains how we can form habits that benefit our personal development and get rid of those that hold us back.
2. Make Your Bed by Admiral William H. McRaven
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Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life… And Maybe the World is a blueprint for applying self-discipline in all areas of your life to maximize success.
Admiral McRaven was the key speaker at the 2014 commencement exercises at the University of Texas at Austin. His speech became the foundation of his bestselling book.
Within the book’s pages are 10 guiding principles for overcoming challenges in life. McRaven learned these principles while training as a Navy Seal.
Written in an engaging style, the book features anecdotes from the admiral’s life, providing valuable lessons on teamwork, dealing with failure, taking risks, and having the willpower to go on despite the challenges that arise.
3. The Mental Toughness Handbook by Damon Zahariades
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The Mental Toughness Handbook: A Step-By-Step Guide to Facing Life’s Challenges, Managing Negative Emotions, and Overcoming Adversity With Courage and Poise explains the difference between grit and mental toughness.
It also provides actionable steps on how to endure hardships, function under pressure, and succeed in every challenge you encounter.
The book reveals the top seven traits of people who possess mental toughness, and also explains the close association between emotional mastery and mental toughness. It helps readers understand the significance of self-awareness in the development of mental fortitude.
Finally, it provides simple practices for developing self-control and reveals five habits that strengthen the mind and curb impulsive behavior.
4. Atomic Habits by James Clear
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In Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Onesreaders come to understand the far-reaching impact of habits.
The book is a blueprint for creating habits that nourish and propel you to success.
Furthermore, it provides great best strategies for breaking habits that hold us back from our highest potential.
Some key takeaways from the book include:
5. The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal
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Looking for a science-based book about willpower? Look no further than The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It.
Kelly McGonigal offers insights from a number of different fields, including psychology, medicine, economics, and neuroscience, in this comprehensive book.
Here are some of the insights found in the book:
6. Mastery by Robert Greene
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This book reveals how we can unlock our potential and achieve success in our chosen fields.
Robert Greene uses the lives of famous and successful people throughout ancient and contemporary history as examples and jumping-off points for discussing the principles and strategies for achieving mastery.
Readers will learn about the three behaviors of our minds, namely:
The book offers insights into what our tasks in life are. It equips us with what we need to make positive changes.
7. The Science of Self-Discipline by Peter Hollins
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The first thing that readers will appreciate about this book is how easy it is to read. It provides actionable strategies on improving your self-discipline and successfully accomplishing your goals.
One important takeaway from Peter Hollins is that “self-discipline is not only the goal, but also the journey.”
The Science of Self-Discipline: The Willpower, Mental Toughness, and Self-Control to Resist Temptation and Achieve Your Goals introduces the concept of neuroplasticity, where the brain adjusts or “rewires” itself in response to new stimuli.
He also shares the three executive functions that are prerequisites for achieving self-discipline:
Well-written and concise, this book is packed with useful information for building self-discipline and personal improvement.
Final Thoughts on Willpower Books
There you have it—seven willpower books for building self-discipline.
Each one offers strategies and methods to help you achieve your goals and reach a new level in your quest for personal development.
We hope that these books enlighten and inspire you and that the information you’ll learn from them will help you create positive changes in your life.
If you are interested in more resources about self-improvement and willpower, feel free to check out any of the posts below:
Finally, if you want to take your goal-setting efforts to the next level, check out this FREE printable worksheet and a step-by-step process that will help you set effective SMART goals.
