More on Willpower or, One’s ‘I Will’ is More Important than IQ.

A number of readers responded to my last post; some on the blog itself, others in a personal email. I suspect that we are fairly close in agreement, although the language we each use may differ. I agree there is a collection of behaviors labeled “willpower” in our culture. To this end, those who display these behaviors to some degree exist along a continuum of “dependence.” The point of my last post was to suggest the difference between one having mastered a set of behaviors, i.e., “skills,” and one having an inherent trait called “willpower.” Although both manifest themselves in the same way—the ability or inability to “resist temptation”—the impact of viewing willpower as a trait is that, like skin color, we humans tend to discriminate against individuals based on a socially constructed system of values.

If I view willpower as a skill or set of skills that I do not possess, then I understand my “inability to resist temptation” as a function of “knowledge” rather than a “character.” I may or may not be motivated to learn the requisite skills to change my behavior, but that is a choice I make and for which I am responsible. If, however, I view my inability to “resist temptation” as being indicative of a character defect, then I am left with no recourse but to continue on with no hope of changing behavior short of divine intervention. This is somewhat melodramatic, but change is an “inside job.” For one to first recognize and then attempt to do something about this, the individual first needs to engage in what I refer to as “possibility thinking.”

The old school view of willpower—even in AA, which suggests that willpower is not a solution for addiction—is that we individuals are capable of doing anything we put our minds to doing...the old “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” argument. Those who can do this, change, while those who cannot suffer. Interestingly, there is a cultural spin on this whole willpower thing too. The concept of willpower as a character trait is grounded in the Western belief in the primacy of individualism...a focus on “me” and “my” ability to do whatever I put “my” mind to doing, the “anyone can grow up to be president of the United States” argument. Interestingly, this cultural perspective is a relative minority as most of the world cultures relate to some extent to a collectivistic world view...the individual is NOT the building block of cultures and societies. Rather, one’s focus is on the family and community, with individual acts not so much asserting one’s inherent right to “be all that you can be” but rather, furthering the greater, common good. But I wax philosophical and this strays from the original point: willpower is a social construction and not an entity or character trait.

What I find interesting about AA—and one of its many endearing qualities—is that the steps suggest that I cannot manage change alone, but that any change made is nevertheless an inside job. This is another of the myriad paradoxes in 12-step programs/philosophy: To change, that is to say, “recover,” I must surrender to a power greater than myself, but in so doing, I find the ability to make personal changes that allow me to grow and develop. The willpower of 12-step philosophy is the power of commitment to change coupled with a realization that the change process necessitates the input and support of others, including a power greater than myself. Put another way, willpower in 12-step recovery—at least as I understand it—is better stated as “I will, power”—this is also why I believe that 12-step programs are so compatible with Cognitive-Behavioral Theory in that AA cautions against “stinkin’-thinkin’,” Beck exhorts challenging cognitive distortions, and Ellis admonished to refute irrational beliefs. These are all points along the same path to change.

Willpower only exists to the extent that one does not respond to temptation in a fashion deemed appropriate by the culture in which the individual exhibits his or her behavior. It is not like physical strength measured in “foot-pounds of torque” exerted or electrical units expended. Rather, recognition of willpower occurs after the fact and only then when an observer evaluates one’s behavior by comparing it to a predetermined, that is, social constructed hierarchy of “acceptable/unacceptable” behavior.

This is all “angels on the head of a pin” stuff except for the impact not having willpower has on one’s personal belief in an ability to change. My argument is that if I see this thing called willpower as being a set of skills, then if I do not have them, I can get them if I am willing to do what is necessary to develop said skills. On the other hand, if willpower is not a skill set, then I am fated to see myself as do others, personally “weak” and incapable affecting change.