Is willpower a limited resource?

Yes, willpower is often considered a limited resource. According to Andrew Huberman, the concept of willpower as a limited resource emerged from studies showing that tasks requiring high resistance, like resisting cookies, result in less persistence in subsequent challenging tasks compared to tasks requiring low resistance, like resisting radishes. This suggests that if you use a lot of willpower for one task, you might have less available for another task right after 1.

However, this idea of willpower being limited, known as "ego depletion," has seen its fair share of debate. Evidence from other researchers like Carol Dweck suggests that believing willpower is not limited can help avoid its depletion. In essence, how much we believe willpower is limited can affect our actual experience of it 2.

In sum, while foundational studies support the idea that willpower can seem limited, this might be influenced largely by our beliefs and perceptions about willpower itself.