Summary

The article suggests using the concept of the ALT key as a metaphor for shifting from relying on willpower to employing self-control strategies for making lasting behavioral changes.

Abstract

The author of the article argues that willpower is often an ineffective method for achieving long-term behavior change, as it is associated with a struggle against one's desires. Instead, the article proposes that self-control, which involves making decisions aligned with one's values and goals, is a more sustainable approach. Drawing a parallel to the ALT key on a keyboard, which alters the function of another key when pressed simultaneously, the author suggests that focusing on the broader purpose behind our actions can lead to better self-control. This approach is supported by research from Dr. Kentaro Fujita, which indicates that individuals who concentrate on abstract, high-level reasons for their goals are more likely to exhibit self-control and avoid instant gratification. The article encourages readers to think beyond individual decisions and consider the deeper meaning behind them to reinforce their actions with external motivation, thereby reducing resistance to change and eliminating the reliance on willpower.

Opinions

Willpower is insufficient for lasting change and is often praised as a virtue, despite its ineffectiveness.
Self-control is preferable to willpower as it aligns actions with personal values and goals rather than opposing desires.
The ALT key metaphor is used to illustrate the idea of altering one's approach to decision-making for better outcomes.
Research by Dr. Kentaro Fujita supports the notion that abstract thinking about one's goals can enhance self-control.
Focusing on the big picture rather than individual temptations can lead to more successful self-control and goal attainment.
The article criticizes the societal pressure to use willpower, especially in the context of health-related behaviors like dieting and quitting smoking.
The author advocates for a shift in mindset from immediate gratification to long-term benefits, akin to pressing the ALT key to access alternative functions on a keyboard.

Try Pressing the ALT Key to Change Bad Habits

ALT as an alternative to willpower.

Many of us resist change because the status quo feels familiar and safe. Resistance can dig in like a 2-year-old who doesn’t want to go to bed, especially when a change requires us to modify our behavior.

Sometimes, no amount of motivation seems strong enough to shift us out of old habits and into new ones — even when the health of our bodies, minds, or relationships is at stake.

When change is necessary, we may resort to willpower to bring it about. Willpower often is lauded as a virtue. Having been raised in an Irish-Catholic home, I heard unceasing advice to “just use your willpower to [fill in].”

It was used to exhort us to avoid committing something considered “sinful” or to endure something painful. Frankly, willpower sucks; I got good at it since anything that even scented of resistance or complaint was tantamount to blasphemy.

While I was praised for my strong willpower, it never worked to make lasting change. I couldn’t wait until I was old enough — and brave enough — to say, “The hell with this.”

So, what does this have to do with the ALT key?

On a keyboard, when we press the ALT key and another key simultaneously, we create an alternate action than when pressing each alone. When we need to make decisions for our health, we often rely on sheer willpower to slog our way through, but it’s an uphill climb that carries the risk of sliding backward with the accompanying stigma of failure and defeat.

Dieting, exercising, and quitting smoking or other substances are often approached this way. And I know from personal experience, willpower isn’t enough.

Willpower Isn’t Enough

Willpower can become an exercise in teeth-gritting, blood-sweating, tear-stained resistance to temptation; it rarely produces lasting change. Self-control, on the other hand, involves an ability to weigh actions and decisions to choose the most beneficial one based on our values and goals.

While we may use willpower at the decision-making point, our purpose isn’t to act in opposition to our desire, but to act in support of our ultimate goal.

“Although it may be tempting to define self-control as the effortful inhibition of impulses [willpower], doing so introduces cumbersome conceptual distinctions. Instead, researchers should define self-control more broadly as the general process by which people advance abstract, distal over concrete, proximal motives in judgment, decisions, and behavior.” — Dr. Kentaro Fujita, Professor, Social, Decision, “On Conceptualizing Self-Control as More Than the Effortful Inhibition of Impulses”

When confronted by temptation — something we should say no to but want to say yes to — we can exercise sheer willpower to make the right decision.

But often this is merely a temporary fix that will arise over and over. For example, if I’m trying to lose weight because of my physical health, I can use willpower to avoid that piece of luscious, chocolate cake in the bakery window and feel righteous with my decision.

The single decision means very little if it leaves me feeling deprived, which can lead to overindulging when our “willpower runs dry.”

According to Dr. Fugita:

“People frequently appear all-too-willing to sacrifice the attainment of their goals and values to indulge in tempting, immediately gratifying rewards.”

In his research, Dr. Fugita studied the effects of abstract thinking on the exercise of self-control. When participants were asked to describe why they wanted good health, their answers focused on the result, the purpose for having and maintaining good health, which is a “high-level construal” — the ability to focus on broader, global concerns.

When they were asked how they attained and maintained good health, they focused on means and methods, which are “low-level construals” that focus on more narrow, local concerns.

The results showed that those who were influenced by broader, global concerns were more likely to avoid instant gratification and exercise self-control in their pursuit of a larger outcome.

In our cake example, it’s focusing on creating a healthy lifestyle and avoiding fattening food rather than not having that piece of cake.

According to Jeremy Dean, Ph.D., founder and author of PsyBlog, we can increase our self-control without the need for willpower by identifying the big picture and how our actions and choices contribute to it. It’s like keeping the cover of the box handy to help us correctly place the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

Tying it All Up

Thinking less about individual decisions and actions and more about the deeper meaning behind them strengthens our self-control. It’s like pressing ALT alongside another key — reinforcing our actions with external motivation.

By doing this, we can reduce any resistance we feel about making necessary changes, improve our ability to make decisions that lead us to the outcomes we want, and eliminate the need to rely on willpower.

“The only way to get what you ultimately want is to deny yourself short-term pleasures that interfere with your goal.” — Dennis Prager