Hi LINC 7 students!

I have been thinking about our discussion about willpower vs. addiction.

Here's an interesting article from the online version of Psychology Today, a popular magazine/ website that deals with issues of psychology. The article is titled "Does Willpower Play a Role in Addiction Recovery?"

Here's the opening paragraph: "By now, the research is clear: Addiction is a chronic brain disease, not a matter of willpower. This means that, contrary to old stereotypes, people who become addicted to drugs or alcohol are not weak, immoral or tragically flawed."

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/where-science-meets-the-steps/201211/does-willpower-play-role-in-addiction-recovery


For another point of view, here's Kelly McGonigol, the author of a book called The Willpower Instinct. She talks about how willpower can help us to get what we want in life ("your biggest goals and your highest values"). Kelly divides willpower into three aspects: Won't Power; Will Power and Want Power.

The video is divided into sections where she discusses different questions. One of the most interesting answers is at seven minutes and thirty seconds (7:30), where Kelly talks about the importance of self-compassion.

At 11:35 in this video, Kelly discusses using willpower to overcome an addiction to technology. This answer is about two minutes long and worth watching!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzVoQkPswRk



NOTE: We may be changing classrooms next week. A full-time teacher needs a larger classroom for her larger class, so I want to help. I'll let you know if we are going to make a change.