#35 - Ego Power
Why is it so easy to be disciplined early in the day but so difficult by late afternoon or evening? American psychologist Roy Baumeister devised the theory which showed willpower was depletable—like a muscle that can tire and be strengthened. In 1998, an early experiment on ego depletion was done with college students. The students were placed individually in a room with two plates; one had chocolate chip cookies and the other radishes. The students were given the choice of eating nothing, a couple cookies, or a couple radishes. After completing this step, each student was given a puzzle (which unknown to them, had no solution). It was discovered that the students who had eaten radishes depleted their ego power and gave up much sooner on the impossible puzzle.
I imagine you’ve seen this phenomenon in your own life, but maybe you didn’t know what was going on. Until now. You’ve probably noticed how much easier it is to focus and avoid distractions in the morning, how much more patient you are, and how you tend to treat people well. Unfortunately, later in the day it’s very difficult to stay on task, very easy to get impatient, and extremely easy to snap at people for practically no reason. This is ego depletion at work. As your ego power is used up, your brain relies more and more on emotional, and quick “gut feeling thinking” rather than logical, careful analysis.
Mark Twain once said, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” It echoes the popular sentiment that you should start the day with the things that are most challenging—in other words, the things that require the most ego power. You will have the most success following through on difficult decisions, projects, and activities if you tackle them when your ego power is at its maximum.
Although the evidence is not conclusive, it is believed that younger people tend to have lesser ego power stores and deplete them faster because the part of the brain responsible for self-control continues to develop into the 20’s. Another explanation is that repeated training of the “ego muscle” strengthens its resilience. Much like athletic training where breaking down the muscles and then allowing recovering is the key to getting stronger, there is evidence to suggest that ego power also strengthens with use. Like most things in life, success feeds success and once you come to expect your willpower to carry you through a difficult day, it will inevitably be stronger.
To use this information in your own life, I have several recommendations.
[if !supportLists]1. [endif]Always start your day with the things which require the most ego power; careful logical thinking, avoiding distractions, challenging tasks, anything you don’t want to do but should, etc.
[if !supportLists]2. [endif]Athletic performance deteriorates with ego depletion so be careful to conserve ego power on days of important athletic events.
[if !supportLists]3. [endif]When you start to struggle with distractions, impatience, or treating people poorly without cause, recognize that your ego power is low and try your best to be who you want to be—train your ego muscle so that it’s stronger in the future and lasts longer.