A new book on willpower asserts that it's a muscle. That is, you can strengthen it with practice, and you can exhaust it with stress and overuse. This makes sense, and years of research back the idea.

Every year, nearly half of all Americans start the year with a resolution to change something about their lives. People make goals to try to be healthier and happier versions of themselves. But most ...

BERLIN, GERMANY - DECEMBER 20: Shoppers walk past a store advertising sales on Schlossstrasse shopping street in Steglitz district during the fourth wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic on December ...

PORTLAND, Ore. - Self-control. It helps you resist the urge to yell at your boss. It keeps you from eating a whole pint of ice cream. And you summon it up when you want a pair of shoes, TV or car that ...

People who can delay gratification and master their impulses thrive in life. And experts say that you can learn skills to rein in bad habits. By Christina Caron We tend to respect and even idolize ...

We think we need greater self-control to be happier. But a new study suggests the arrow of causation points the other way.

Highlighting summer's enhanced opportunities for healthy behavior has become a tradition for this column. In keeping with tradition, here is my annual installment – one that zeroes in on the core ...

What new research reveals about self-control and willpower. As a Christian, I have often wondered about my failures of self-control. Why is it that I can know what I want to do, carefully plan to do ...

These are comments I might get when people learn about my lifestyle. I’m one of those annoying people who eat lots of fruits and vegetables, exercise five times a week, save a portion of their salary, ...

A scientific squabble over how to define self-control draws from an unlikely source: A story from Greek mythology. Sailing home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, Odysseus longed to hear the Sirens’ ...