Chapter 1: To-do: Choose one of the challenges: To loose weight.

"I will" power challenge: Say Yes, the ability to do what you need to do even wh en a part of you doesn't want to. "I wont" power challenge: Saying No, What would you like to get rid of because i ts undermining your goal? "I want" power challenge: What is the most important long-term goal you want to focus on? What immediate one will tempt you away? the ability to remember what y ou really want? To exert self-control you need to find your motivation when it m atters. Harnessing these three powers to achieve goals. We, as humans, have all these three powers. The development of all these three powers defines to be human. Why we have will-power? With increase in social complexity, humans needed more will-power. Our brains c aught up and came up with strategies of self-control. (The ability to control im pulses) Some of us use it more than others. What is it we are working with? (Neuroscience) ... the development of pre-frontal cortex. (Now better connected to other parts of the brain, larger portion of brain as compared to other animals) ... buy us the brain, to do the harder task. ... three regions of pre-frontal cortex: "I will" (upper left), "I won't" (right side), "I want" (in the lower-middle -- responsible for motivation) To-do: What is the harder thing? What makes it so difficult? How do you feel w hen doing it? Many temporary states (sleep-deprived, distracted) inhibt the pre-frontal cortex leading us to less control impulses. We have the desire to follow impulses. It has a mind of its own. We have one brain and two minds. We are equipped with impulse control as well. Part of you wants one thing but a part of want wants another. To-do: Describe these competing minds. Value of these both selves: Instincts and desires are critical for health, happi ness and surprisingly self-control. Take advantage of survival/primitive instincts NOT fight them. Know thyself! (first rule of self-control)

Self-awareness: the ability to realise/understand what you are doing, and why yo u are doing when you are doing something. Predict what we will be doing before d oing it. (ample opportunity to re-consider) To recognize the moment where self-control needs to be exerted. Without self-awa reness NO self-control. But most of our choices are made on auto-pilot without any real awareness of wha t's driving them and what would be the consequences. People which are more distracted, are guided by impulses. To-do: Track your will-power choices. Track choices: when decisions are made tha t support/undermine your goals. When you track your choices, you are less likely to make them on auto-pilot. A guaranteed way to Increase Will-power. Impulse can be elusive. To-do: Catch yourself earlier in the giving in process. What thoughts, feelings , situations are likely to prompt the impulse? What do you say to yourself? Our brains are not fixed. To-do: Meditation is known to increase will-power. Start with 5 minutes meditat ion daily. -----------------------------------------Chapter 2: