Have you ever noticed how much harder it is to stick to your diet after a long day at work?
According to a new study featured on The Huffington Post, we all have a refractory period, a time when we're too tired to keep our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in check—not because we lack self-control but because we feel that other things are more important.
“In short, when people are 'depleted' or fatigued, they experience a change in motivational priorities such that they attend to and work less for things they feel obliged to do and attend to and work more for things they want to do—things they like doing,” explains Michael Inzlicht of the University of Toronto Scarborough.
To get around the issue, researchers recommend looking at a task as something you want to accomplish not something you have to do. Focusing more on the goal instead of the grind may also get you from Point A to Point B quicker. You can also try out known self-control boosters like “exercise, surrounding yourself with good influences, mindfulness, looking at the big picture, and prayer.”
(Photo by Dennis Yang via Flickr Creative Commons)
