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Most folks trying to strengthen their willpower muscles do not have access to virtual-reality systems, to say nothing of fMRIs. But low-tech methods like mindfulness work. So can something called a pause-and-plan strategy, a phrase coined by psychologist Suzanne Segerstrom of the University of Kentucky. Cravings trigger the fight-or-flight response, narrowing the mind's focus until the danger--in this case the powerful urge for something--is resolved. Pausing and planning well in advance of the crisis widens the options and brings the rational prefrontal cortex online.
Even something as simple as candidly evaluating how much time you'll have to achieve your goals helps. In an ideal world, we'd always be able to get to the gym or go for a jog, but the ideal world has no sick days or overtime at work. That doesn't mean we shouldn't exercise, but it does mean we need to take a cold look at when we can fit it into our schedule and stick to that realistic plan instead of chasing a fanciful one.
None of this is easy--and the fact is, none of it is fun, at least in the very short term. But if there's a happy side to all the new research, it's that the muscle analogy works both ways. It's true enough that exercising willpower can lead to a kind of psychic ache, and it's true too that that can lead to a short-term failure of resolve. But over time, incrementally, fatigue becomes strength and ache becomes commitment. Your lower brain may always have the fun, but your higher brain, with practice, can still say how much.