Roy Baumeister is one of the most esteemed psychologists of our era. In the book Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, he teams with science writer John Tierney to explain the latest thinking on the overlooked (and often scorned) capacity for self-control. In an era when we blame our problems on everything but ourselves, psychologists are finally discovering what we’ve known all along: self-control (willpower) can overcome a lot more than we are willing to admit.

The book explains many of the latest studies done that have shown the power of willpower. It explores the idea that willpower can be exhausted by using it too much (just as a muscle can), but that willpower (also like a muscle) can be strengthened. The research shows that our minds play tricks on ourselves as we resist temptations, defer gratification, or give in to things we know are bad for us.

There are very practical things listed in the book that we can do to strengthen willpower. Whether attempting to quit smoking, exercise more, eat less, spend more time reading and less watching television, etc., the book gives some practical tips on how to set rules that give you the best shot of achieving those goals. At times it can swerve into self-help territory, but only after building a solid research based understanding of why the steps suggested will actually work. This is not pseudo-psychology.

I enjoyed this book in part because it confirms my own opinions. The age of self-esteem has undermined an entire generation, in my opinion, as we told our kids that they were a success no matter what they achieved. Perhaps the pendulum needed to swing that way when it did — and there are certainly benefits to building confidence in others. But the pendulum swung too far. Sometimes you just have to accept weakness and then work harder to overcome obstacles. This book addresses that and says self-control is the key to real success in life.

In the end, I found the book to be interesting and worth reading. Not sure I learned anything that I didn’t already know, though. Kind of funny how it takes decades for psychologists to catch up with good old common sense.