Discover the Best Books Written by Kelly McGonigal

Kelly McGonigal is a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University known for her work in the field of "science help," which focuses on translating insights from psychology and neuroscience into practical strategies that support health and well-being.

A longtime advocate of self-compassion and mindfulness as stress-coping strategies, McGonigal has altered her focus on the problematic aspects of stress; in a talk at the TEDGlobal 2013, she emphasized the importance of an individual's subjective belief in themselves as someone who can cope successfully as being a crucial factor in their actual response to stress.

McGonigal, the identical twin of game designer Jane McGonigal, was brought up in New Jersey by public school teacher parents who emphasized intellectual attainment. Although she is now grateful for their protectiveness, McGonigal says it seemed like "lockdown" at the time. She describes her upbringing as "both good and stressful." She received a B.A. in psychology and a B.S. in mass communication at Boston University and her Ph.D. at Stanford University, where she is a lecturer in psychology and teaches a public course on willpower.

A practitioner of meditation, McGonigal was the chief editor of the peer-reviewed journal, the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, from 2005 to 2012 and advocated yoga and similar mindfulness practices as a way to recharge and direct attention and mental resources to achieve desired outcomes. The rationale was based on studies on the effect of meditation on the brain and the Ego depletion model, also called the 'strength' theory of self-control, proposed by a team led by Roy Baumeister.

McGonigal's simple summary of the 'strength' theory of self-control: "Self-control is like a muscle. When used, it gets tired." As a writer and researcher on self-control, McGonigal has frequently been cited for her views on how willpower can be built up and directed. However, having emphasized the role of meditation practices for fighting stress to enable better functioning in challenging circumstances, McGonigal altered her standpoint somewhat in 2013 and now highlights the attitude taken to stress as the crucial factor.

McGonigal defines willpower as "the ability to do what you really want to do when part of you really doesn't want to do it" and says that humans experience conflicts between impulse and self-control in personal and social contexts, giving examples such as a craving for sweet foods, the urge to be sarcastic or complaining, and the desire to procrastinate.

Humans have evolved adaptations to control their instincts and successfully resist impulsive drives because living in groups requires self-control, and this—McGonigal says—means taking the harder option. According to McGonigal, willpower failure or success can spread through a group because humans tend to mirror the behavior of those they are socially connected with.

The part of the self that enables us to act in a way that is consistent with our long-term goals is based in the prefrontal cortex. McGonigal advocates body-mind practices that she says prioritize the function of the prefrontal cortex rather than parts of the brain that are orientated toward instant responses, which is the brain's default setting when under stress.

According to McGonigal, the practice of meditation is an effective way to establish the primacy of the prefrontal cortex, thus enabling a choice to do the harder thing when that is required for attaining a long-term goal. McGonigal believes exercising self-control can help build up willpower in the same way as, over time, physical exercising can increase the capacity to exercise.

She says: "If you do it with awareness and intention, it can make you stronger. The strength develops over time, even if you feel temporarily weaker. But I think this only works when you have this mindset and feel like you are consciously choosing to "use" your willpower. If you feel like you are being drained by everything you "have" to do (or not do), that lack of autonomy is even more stressful than exercising self-control." The promise of happiness from cravings often misleads in McGonigal's view, and she gives techniques of mindfully focusing attention on the actual experience when indulging a craving or temptation so as to compare it with the expectation of reward that preceded it.

One use of willpower that McGonigal sees as counterproductive is thought suppression or trying not to think about temptations such as cravings. McGonigal believes thoughts become more intrusive through thought suppression, and it is best to simply register that an unwanted thought has occurred without believing in it or acting on it. 

Energy to pursue activities is less scarce than to resist temptation, says McGonigal, suggesting that people give their brains healthy "wants" such as vegetables or a walk after lunch so that weight loss becomes a by-product of choice. Learning to be a friend and mentor to ourselves rather than equating self-control with self-criticism is the attitude that she advocates.