Willpower not necessarily a finite resource

Summary:

Pull your socks up.

Abstract:

Much recent research suggests that willpower—the capacity to exert
self-control—is a limited resource that is depleted after exertion. We
propose that whether depletion takes place or not depends on a person's
belief about whether willpower is a limited resource. Study 1 found that
individual differences in lay theories about willpower moderate
ego-depletion effects: People who viewed the capacity for self-control as
not limited did not show diminished self-control after a depleting
experience. Study 2 replicated the effect, manipulating lay theories about
willpower. Study 3 addressed questions about the mechanism underlying the
effect. Study 4, a longitudinal field study, found that theories about
willpower predict change in eating behavior, procrastination, and
self-regulated goal striving in depleting circumstances. Taken together,
the findings suggest that reduced self-control after a depleting task or
during demanding periods may reflect people's beliefs about the
availability of willpower rather than true resource depletion.

http://www.stanford.edu/~gwalton/home/Publications_files/Job,%20Dweck,%20%26%20Walton,%202010.pdf