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840 Tapping the Science of Willpower for the New Year (Archive)

Tune in to our radio show on your local public radio station, or sign up for the podcast and listen at your leisure. Here’s what it’s about:

At the start of a new year, many of us resolve to adopt a healthier lifestyle. We plan to quit smoking if we haven’t already; or we intend to get into a regular exercise routine, give up junk food and lose weight. Why are New Year’s resolutions so easy to make–and so hard to keep?

If we only had more willpower, we think, perhaps we wouldn’t give in to temptation so easily. Can we exercise willpower like a muscle to make it stronger? Find out how self-control works and how to make it work for you. And have a happy and healthy new year!

Guest: Kelly McGonigal, PhD, is an award-winning psychology instructor at Stanford University and a health educator for the School of Medicine’s Health Improvement Program. Her psychology courses for professionals and the public (including The Science of Willpower and Living Well with Stress) are among the most popular in the history of Stanford’s Continuing Studies program. She is the author of Psychology Today’s “Science of Willpower” blog. Dr. McGonigal’s latest book is The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It.

Photo by Mark Bennington

Her website is: www.kellymcgonigal.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/kellymcgonigal

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kellymcgonigalauthor

To find the book: Try Amazon
or Barnes and Noble

The podcast of this program will be available the Monday after the broadcast date. The show can be streamed online from this site and podcasts can be downloaded for free for four weeks after the date of broadcast. After that time has passed, digital downloads are available for $2.99. CDs may be purchased at any time after broadcast for $9.99.

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About the Author
Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist who has dedicated his career to making drug information understandable to consumers. His best-selling book, The People’s Pharmacy, was published in 1976 and led to a syndicated newspaper column, syndicated public radio show and web site. In 2006, Long Island University awarded him an honorary doctorate as “one of the country's leading drug experts for the consumer.”.
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