Akrasia, or Why You Act Against Your Own Better Judgment
Akrasia: it’s the word of the day. It may be a 25¢ word, but it’s a concept with which we’re all familiar. Essentially, it’s acting against one’s own best interest. We’re not talking here about the noble, altruistic deeds that purposefully put others’ needs before our own. Akrasia encompasses that irrational, confounding state of mind in which we wittingly throw caution, reason, and consequences to the wind in order to pursue a choice we understand will be bad for us. In other words, we know better. In fact, we know pretty much exactly what repercussions will befall us. That chocolate donut in our hand, for example, will undoubtedly cause our IBS to flare up – or have us bemoaning the paunch look later. Staying up late to watch one more episode of Breaking Bad will leave us comatose in tomorrow’s big meeting. Skipping yet another workout keeps us on track to lose all the gains we’ve built up the last few months. Stewing over the day’s stresses and playing out angry scenarios in our heads will keep our kids and partner at arm’s length and us up half the night with stomach pain.
But damned if we don’t make the choice anyway. Why? What’s wrong with us that we go down these roads when we clearly understand the fallout? Is it temporary insanity? Delusion? Just human nature? Can we truly write off our responsibility so easily as that – “hominids will be hominids”? As much as we’re subject to evolutionarily honed instincts, I think we have enough higher order thinking skills to generally pull ourselves back from the brink when we’re so inclined.
Philosophers for millennia have proposed all manner of explanations and parameters for akrasia. We lose our footing in a convoluted jumble of justification gone awry. “Baser” instinctual appetites (e.g. for food, sex, risk) get the better of us. We tell ourselves a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Emotion trumps logic. We’re weak of will.
Modern science, on the other hand, has illuminated the battle for self-control in its own way. Willpower, experts say, is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes. On the other hand, research also suggests it’s a finite supply each day. The more we resist temptation in a given day, the weaker our will gets as the day goes on. Setting ourselves up for success by avoiding as much temptation as we can and reducing the mental clutter of meaningless decisions (e.g. Should I buy the teddy bear or floral print paper towels?) can go a long way toward avoiding disruptive impulses and conserving our willpower resources.
Nonetheless, I think there’s more here. Akrasia as a state of mind suggests something deeper, perhaps more pervasive in our lives. The concept begs a more intimate study, a more individual inventory. When I’ve talked to readers, clients, and friends about what has held them back from embracing better choices – a better life overall – they offer profoundly personal chronicles. Sure, their accounts can generally be distilled into some core – and common – themes, but the power behind their tales is poignant and personal experience. It’s a story – not an abstraction.
When we examine why we’re occasionally – or not so occasionally – drawn to act against our best interest, I think it’s helpful to know the potential toward akrasia is universal. We’re all subject to the conflicting impulses and better spirits of our human heritage. The complexity that defines our exercise of free will at turns confounds, frustrates, and amazes. Yet, within this theoretical idea we find a more nuanced and telling version of our own journey (sometimes struggle) in cultivating healthy self-interest. If we’ve decided what rational self-interest looks like for our life, what do the forces that contest it look like in our imaginations – relics of the past or ambiguities of the present as they so often are? What shape do they take? What voices do they have?
Part of self-control is self understanding. Knowing the circumstances that test your confidence. Preempting the script that tends to play in your head when life gets tough or you have time on your hands. Only then can you divert the narrative, anticipate your needs, and genuinely tend to your weaknesses before they get the better of you. It’s about understanding within a circumstance that this, too, shall pass. The power to choose in full consciousness today determines who and what ultimately directs your overall life story.
Thanks for reading today, everyone. Let me know your thoughts on today’s concept.
Grab a Copy of The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Total Body Transformation and Start Getting Primal Today!
Posted By: Mark Sisson
Great post – I’m definitely guilty of staying up to watch Breaking Bad (awesome show), as well as finding myself purposeless yet consumed by my computer late at night, when I should be in bed. The workaholism is tired, so it just becomes a waste of time. Most everyone I know is admitting some kind of ‘internet addiction’ that fuels this kind of mindless connection. Anyone have good ideas for kicking this habit?
f.lux + wake up at five AM every morning
fixed the internet addiction for me; also get a jump rope and go to town on it, might be too cardio-ish but puts the akrasia impulses elsewhere for awhile
f.lux is AMAZING. I recommend it almost everyone I know with insomnia issues. It’s so simple and easy on the eyes and FREE.
Coincidentally, I am also up at 5am every morning to get my heart pumping. I’m not a morning person at all, but f.lux has made it easier to get to bed!
f.lux is a great thing!
What is f.lux?
Lisa:
F.lux is pretty awesome. Robb Wolf recommended it last year at the Paleo Solution seminar in Toronto. I honestly think I sleep better after having installed it. I also work ALL day on my computer, so I have also noticed an improvement in what used to be almost constant eye strain after long sessions.
From the website:
“During the day, computer screens look good—they’re designed to look like the sun. But, at 9PM, 10PM, or 3AM, you probably shouldn’t be looking at the sun. F.lux fixes this: it makes the color of your computer’s display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day.”
“It’s even possible that you’re staying up too late because of your computer. You could use f.lux because it makes you sleep better or because it simply makes your computer look better. f.lux makes your computer screen look like the room you’re in, all the time. When the sun sets, it makes your computer look like your indoor lights. In the morning, it makes things look like sunlight again.”
“Tell f.lux what kind of lighting you have, and where you live. Then forget about it. F.lux will do the rest, automatically.”
And it’s free.
Was super easy to load and run.
http://stereopsis.com/flux/
Whats scary is I just started watching Breaking Bad on Netflix last night….Up too late, and I just so happen to have a meeting today. Ugh. But I had an epic breakfast and sipping on some Black tea should hold off the yawns for a bit.
Something pretty much identical was posted up on “The Art of Manliness”, if you want any more info.
My alarm clock has two alarms. One is set for 5:45 AM, and the other is set for 9:30 PM. When the PM one goes off, I have to get up from the couch to turn it off, and then I just get in bed. It keeps me honest, or I would never be able to keep a healthy sleep schedule on my own. And with a good night’s sleep I can do a better job of making good decisions the next day. Ooops, there it goes now. ‘Night all….
This is a great idea! I’m not quite ready to give up the luxury, of sleeping whenever I like, that comes with retirement. I sleep very well and always get around 8 – 9 hours of restorative sleep. So, changes to my sleep pattern are not the highest priority right now. Heading for bed by midnight is as far as I am willing to set limits right now. I do like the idea of rising with the sun so when I am ready for that change I’m going to use your method of keeping honest. Thanks for sharing.
Oooh subtle!!
This is definitely one of those high level, adult skills which can only be cultivated through self awareness and unflinching honesty. For years I have wondered about my backsliding in the face of the best intentions and have longed for some wise blogger to give me the scoop on how to perfect my willpower.
Thanks for this Mark. It is good to realize that this is a universal phenomenon and that the best way to deal with it is to up my awareness and pay attention to my triggers, so that I can fight the demons of Akrasia!
ha! seconds away from nicotine relapse and i find this! thanks mark, i am now gonna go buy a pound of jerky instead. day 12 and still going
Awesome!
Great job, keep it up!
If you do happen to relapse I recommend an e-cig or water filter. If you smoke, don’t forget the power of a coffee with your cigarette. The antioxidants should act as a shield.
I haven’t quite kicked my bad brain-bubbling habits (lasted about a week after making resolutions) but am currently going the damage mitigation route.
One should be aware that coffee actually enhances the effects of nicotine and makes it more enjoyable, thus in my mind making the habit harder to drop. Short abstract here.
http://biopsychiatry.com/cafnic.htm
Yes, that was my experience as well. When I quit smoking I also quit coffee for a while – switched to tea. Years later, after successfully avoiding smoking relapse long term, I resumed coffee.
Bravo!
Fantastic! Quitting smoking was the best thing I EVER did for my health…and doing it Primal/Paleo made it SO much easier than previous attempts. It wipes out the munchies. Good job doing both – each makes the other easier, I promise! Great work!!
I second that. Quitting smoking ROCKS. Best thing I have ever done for myself or my family by a long shot. Never stop quitting. Feb 2004 is my quit.
thanks ya’ll for the words of encouragement! funny thing is though i’m actually using the munchies to my advantage; as of 12 days ago i weighed 147lbs, as of five minutes ago i weigh 152lbs. at 6’3″ this is a good thing, my ribs are getting harder to count
There’s a great book out there called “Change Anything: The Science of Personal Success” that looks at the antidote to this problem. It doesn’t mention the word “akrasia” but it seems to address how best to deal with bad choices. With anything, planning and strategizing go a long way. You also have to analyze the factors surrounding the things that make you fail in your attempt to resist the Taco Bell burrito. To use the Breaking Bad example…you look at the events surrounding your decision to stay up late. You notice that when this happens you are usually already at the TV set, you are enjoying a before bed snack, and you have not yet changed into your bedtime clothes. Now you start to mess with all of those factors. Instead of having your before bed snack in front of the TV, have it at the table and read a book or magazine to let yourself be entertained while you eat. See if that helps. If it does, keep doing it. If it doesn’t, work with the other two factors: change the clothes before the snack avoid the TV at a predetermined time….etc.
This seems very workable. Thank you for the book recommendation!
just requested the book from my library. Thanks. I find that changing my diet has certainly changed my attitudes. I am much more positive and have no brain fog, so I am thinking about other aspects of my life, relationships and moving forward–now with a more determined outlook. Disorganization is a problem for me and focus, but if I can translate the focus I have on my new eating life into the rest of my life (which is the Primal Blueprint goal doncha’ know)moving forward even from 63 yrs old looks VERY exciting.
Moderation is the key.
i tend to disagree — i find it much easier to be “perfect” than moderate.
Me, too. Usually.
Yes, I agree. I seem to be an all-or-nothing person.
Everything in moderation. Including moderation.
Oscar Wilde
I’ve heard this attributed to everyone including Ben Franklin and Mark Twain. I would love to know who the true author was.
It was Twain I think.
Be moderate in everything, including moderation.
Horace Porter
Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.
Oscar Wilde
excellent — hope to see more articles like this
Wow, this came just after a night where I probably (or maybe definitely!) should have taken a pass on the repeat of The Colbert Report….and wondered AS I WAS MAKING THE CHOICE TO STAY UP why the heck I was doing that to myself.
Knowledge is indeed power. Thanks for more knowledge.
Akrasia: fantastic addition to the lexicon.
Will power within a day is certainly finite, because if the battle of not falling into a temptation rages on all day, the resolve weakens because the temptation is constantly on the mind. We typically act out the content of our thoughts; especially obsessions.
I think it’s important, according to how much is within our power, to not place ourselves into circumstances that will inevitably cause failure, such as an ex-alcoholic walking into a bar.
I still have many epic wars to wage against my inner demons.
Excellent post Mark, and well written.
At one point I thought of going raw Vegan (though did not follow through). Overcoming cravings is a huge hurdle I was warned. But the experts and mentors have pretty effective methods – and I’ve found them applicable to all habits! Some of their points are:
* your first day is the hardest – everyday after will be a little easier
* your brain doesn’t really distinguish real and imaginary; so what you perceive as a desire for a donut, smoke, alcohol is really your brain going OCD in it’s most familiar thought patterns (of course their could also be chemical dependencies).
* overcome that with EFT (the tapping treatment) alerts the brain that the real world is trying to get it’s attention and focus on what you are doing right now and that you decided not to do that other thing
* you don’t want to dwell on ‘denial’ but rather replacing the stuff that is crappy with good stuff that can bring your body and mind (pleasure sensors) just as much satisfaction
* it takes 21 days to form the new habit
So their are a few ideas to avoid choosing to wrong things.
What a wonderful article! I always thought it was a conflict of self-love and self-pity, where self-love makes you do things that the self-pity whispers against. You know… ‘your life is so hard, boo-hoo, of course you can have some jam/chocolate bar/whatever, what other joys have you had today and will ever?”
Akrasia–so nice to have a word to describe a very complex set of assumptions, decisions, personal biases and biological influences which sometimes help to make my life a little miserable.
I guess this is where self-forgiveness and the concept of trying again come into play, to counteract the effects of akrasia.
I will certainly continue to consider this post for the remainder of the day as I feel some ideas are just germinating as I am writing this reply.
Thanks for the post, Mark.
Great post, Mark! This is exactly the sort of self-talk that enabled me to escape the self-destructive impulse of alcoholism two years ago. I think that part of our human nature, that cannot be denied, is that we are all naturally drawn toward pleasure and away from pain, a trait that allowed our species to survive for millenia.
The trick I believe is to redirect our pleasure impulses toward stimuli that do not destroy our bodies and relationships. The problem with alcohol, sugar and drugs is that they can elicit a level of euphoria that is quick & easy and difficult to match naturally, e.g. the so-called “runner’s high” or fleeting endorphin rush.
Daniel Gilbert wrote a fantastic book which covers this topic, it’s called “stumbling on happiness”. I won’t go into it here as I won’t do it any kind of justice, but for further reading it presents a great start.
Good timing! I am to have lunch at a place where I know there will be nothing primal. Considering my options…
“Part of self-control is self understanding.”
I agree. I think we succumb to the not-so-healthy impulses when we want something to help us feel better. When we are tired, bored, stressed or in pain (emotional or physical), there’s a tendency to look to certain foods or other things that we think will lift us up. But if we can understand, “I’m just tired [or stressed/unhappy/bored because--fill in the blank]” then sometimes logic can take over again and we can remind ourselves, “sleep [or talking to a friend/exercising/enjoying a pleasant activity] is more likely to make me feel better in the long-run (and maybe in the short-term, too)than the unhealthy choice.
Akrasia! So funny, I had a dream last night I was eating a big bowl of spagehetti (and not the squash variety). I was totally tripping in my dream but couldn’t stop eating. Anyone else have funny food dreams? I have been Primal almost a year.
*spaghetti
I had a dream last night that I was out to dinner with my dad where we ate onion rings and a whole cookie cake. I woke up and was like, “Haha, very funny dream subconscious! This girl ate a nice paleo stir-fry for dinner last night!” Dream cookie cake is pretty fantastic though, can’t lie
I have funny cigarette dreams every few years. I used to be a cigarette smoker – a dumb, rebellious adolescent move on my part. Didn’t last long, thankfully. I went through a few quit/relapse cycles until I finally kicked it for good cold turkey 33 years ago. Have not had one single cigarette since then – not even one mental craving after the first week or so.
However, after a few years I started having really fun dreams where I was having a great time smoking. The first one sorta appalled me – and then I thought about it. We do all sorts of things in our dreams that we would never do in waking hours. I think its just a safety mechanism of some sort.
Upon further thought – and a nice walk around outside with the dogs – I’d like to mention a specific aspect of my previous thought about safety mechanisms in dreams.
I believe that the “Universe” (if you will) sends us messages. Could be our own body, our “subconscious”, or maybe even something external that is trying to get our attention.
For instance, if I were to start having frequent and/or dramatic dreams about carb foods, I might stop to consider that maybe I need to make a change. Maybe I need to try re-feeding.
Or, maybe the message is more indirect. Like, I am experiencing a health issue and having a hard time figuring it out. The origin may be in a carb food that I no longer eat but the health issue still lingers.
I think that its important to listen to these messages – but not over-react or jump to conclusions.
Every once in a while. My reaction in the dream is “oh shoot!” And when I wake up it’s like, “Oh good, it wasn’t real!”
Yep, I do that, too.
I had a dream that Michelle from Nom Nom Paleo ripped up my Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook…weird.
That’s a good cookbook, isn’t it? I got a copy right away when I decided to go primal. I have a tendency to be an emotional eater and love comfort foods. So, I thought that I was hedging my bets by making sure that I could have comfort food if I needed it to stick with the diet. Then, I made the change and discovered that I didn’t need that sort of support. But, Its still an informative and fun cookbook so no regrets at all.
Last night I had a dream where I had ordered a whole cow, but I had forgotten to ask that they butcher it for me! They delivered the whole cow and put it on my living room couch, and then I was trying to cut a piece from around the jaw line, but I kept running into bone. I was totally panicked that I wouldn’t be able to get any meat at all off this giant cow I had bought!
In my opinion the fundamental solution to akrasia is commitment devices. If you’re into this kind of thing, check out StickK.com and Beeminder.com — handy tools for us akratics.
[disclosure: i'm part of Beeminder]
I have been reading a book on survival. In it, the author shares a technique he uses in his survival class if he has a student that balks at killing a small animal or cutting down a small tree. He gives them a piece of paper and pen to write to their loved ones. Then asks them to write something like this.
Dear (fill in the blank) I love you dearly but I love this rabbit, tree, etc more so I am going to die out here and will not be able to see you again.
I think this may be a technique we can use when we are thinking to do some self destructive act.
I just do this in my head. Dear husband, I love you dearly but I love sitting in this comfy chair more and plan to never get up again. (I happen to be working on getting more exercise)
I’m in the same boat with getting off my butt. Once I’m home from work I have a really hard time doing anything other than vegging out.
Think I’ll try some of those sentences.
thanks.
LOL That’s a good one!
Sharon, this is EXCELLENT! I’m copying this down and keeping it where I can see it daily. Thanks for your input.
I almost fell out when I saw the title of this post haha. I’m a philosophy major and learned all about akrasia last semester. Last semester was a whirlwind of stress and some personal set backs… I fell off the wagon and am now dealing with some extra pounds and really bad habits. Anyways, it was just funny to see this because ever since I learned this concept I’ve had sticky notes all over the place reminding myself to “overcome akrasia!” haha. Oh Plato, if only it were so simple to become less ignorant
Some would get inspiration and the wherewithal to make the right choices from the following:
Romans 12:1-2
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Matthew: “Watch and Pray, lest you enter into temptation”
or
Wilde: “I can resist everything except temptation”
or
Augustine
“Lord, Make me chaste, but not yet”.
Is one’s character focused on immediate or future gratification?
Is one an adherer or a non-adherer?
Amen! The power of the Spirit over the cravings of the flesh. We fall, we get back up again!! 1 John 1:9
Giving up wheat helped. When I eat wheat there is a nagging craving for an unidentified something constantly in the back of my head. After a couple days without wheat it goes away. [I'm not cheating, it was an experiment to determine how I really react to wheat. Answer--badly.]
My whole life, I have been a bread addict, leaving me hungry ALL THE TIME. I have always had this kind of push (nagging voice) behind me to eat, eat, eat. I have been Primal for a month now – and it’s the first time in 54 years that I have not been hungry. I still can’t believe that it’s happening. I am finally realizing that wheat is nasty.
Truly liberating, isn’t it?
Oh, and just think of all the diet pills, surgery, and other acts of desperation people resort to because of that nagging hunger.
We act against our own instincts and rationality because a lot of times the paradigms and dogmas around us take the decisions.
If we shut the noise from the outside down, our lives would be different.
We are amazing right now, but think of the potential of doing anything you’ve ever wanted, not just a trip or some material things, but as human beings with a purpose. We would serve our purpose and through it we would get the happiness and love we want and need.
Well said. Sounds like freedom.
I think the most powerful thing we can do is set ourselves up for success. Last year I didn’t have cable and I didn’t miss it. This year, it came for free with my lease and I found myself wasting time watching tv when I KNEW there was something else I had to get done. The best remedy I found was to cancel the cable and once it was gone I felt stronger.
Sometimes I wonder.. should I go outside for a walk even though my legs need rest or keep sitting inhaling second hand smoke playing COD?
Wonderful post. I read some of the studies in willpower depletion as a psych major in college, and have widely endorsed that concept since then, especially because it makes so much sense. So, imagine my surprise when I saw an article in the NYT recently that challenged this idea:
GRAY MATTER
Willpower: It’s in Your Head
Serge Bloch
By GREG WALTON and CAROL DWECK
November 27, 2011
Based on: Job, Dweck, and Walton
“Ego Depletion—Is It All in Your Head?: Implicit Theories About Willpower Affect Self-Regulation”, Psychological Science, November 2010 21: 1686-1693
These scientists found that willpower is indeed limited, but *only if you think it is a limited resource*. In other words, if you believe that you have unlimited willpower, tasks that would deplete others do NOT deplete you! As reluctant as I am to part with my long-held excuse that I “use up” all my willpower during my workday and thus cannot reasonably be expected to keep making good choices when I get home, I may have to relinquish this. And this is a good thing–no more excuses. Will I still make some poor choices? Sure. Will I continue to justify it with science? Probably not–time to own those choices, and make peace with 80/20.
Well, let’s look at the temptation of eating a donut: it makes absolutely no difference if you eat that one donut on that one day or not (in terms of gaining weight)…so, obviously it is more pleasurable to eat it and tell your body that you will not eat “other” donuts on “other” days. Of course then you do (cuz you have not taught yourself how to say know) and failure becomes your constant companion.
Interesting post, but I think only the last example is true Akrasia. The others are more examples of short term pleasures vs. longer term costs (some could judge the taste of the donut as worth the IBS or weight gain). The last seems to impact life negatively no matter how you slice it. In other words, you’re paying for both short term and long term misery, not short term pleasure vs. long term misery, or short term pain vs. long term pleasure.
The Classical philosophers saw in the earlier terms.
I have found that, over time, the more I deny myself a particular temptation, the easier it is to say no next time. And when I do make a conscious decision to indulge (i.e., deciding to have dessert on a rare outing to a very nice restaurant with friends), I find that it’s easier to control my portion and I have fewer cravings afterward. So I agree with the idea that willpower is like a muscle.
Funny, I’ve been thinking about this all week. You can make a path for success, and you can warn yourself about all the things you shouldn’t do if you don’w want to fail . . . and then fail anyway, step by careful step. It’s so strange. “Lack of willpower” hardly covers it. It’s more like a second will, a will to fail, has taken over.
I didn’t know there was a word for this, nor that akrasia was universal. But I agree that understanding the motivation behind it is the only way to shut it down. Sometimes I think it’s about self-punishment; other times about expressing frustration or anger. But it’s probably different for everyone.
Having the right word for this experience is surprisingly meaningful. A few years back I stumbled across the word “Velleity” in a dictionary: it means “plans made without the intention to act.” I’ve been sort of haunted by the idea, feeling like every failure meant I wasn’t really serious about my good intentions in the first place. “Akrasia” is more active, and more useful.
Found this really interesting. The concept of a “will to fail” really got me and I think it will stick with me. It’s an interesting and powerful way to put it.
Self understanding is definitely the key, however, in my professional experience as a coach, that means a lot more than what has been mentioned here so far. Changing one’s behavior is much easier when we understand our:
1) Core beliefs
2) Values
3) Attitude
4) Thoughts and feelings
5) Choices
6) Behavior
7) How they all work together
Willpower is somewhat like a muscle, but that muscle isn’t what makes changing easier. Making change easier also involves strategy, including how to deal with one’s own internal “operating system” as described by the 6 points above.
Do you know what your own core beliefs, attitude and values really are? They’ll get you every time if you don’t!