Beyond Willpower

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Muscling through was never the answer. In this solo episode, Julie unpacks why willpower is a poor foundation for lasting change — at work, in our health, and in the goals we keep setting and quietly abandoning — and walks through four things that matter far more: the environment we build around ourselves, the identity we reinforce with every small action, whether a goal is genuinely ours, and how we treat ourselves when we inevitably slip.

WHAT WE COVER

Why the “try harder” story about change is wrong — and why willpower gets too much credit

Environment over willpower: James Clear's systems thinking and Angela Duckworth's new book Situated, including her Three Box Model and the idea of situational agency

Identity-based change vs. outcome-based change

Autonomous vs. controlled motivation, and the question: is this goal actually mine?

The “what-the-hell effect” — why self-compassion after a slip predicts a faster comeback than self-criticism

Four questions to sit with this week

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Where are you relying on willpower to fight an environment that's working against you?

Is the goal you're chasing actually yours, or borrowed from someone else's expectations?