How to Have Willpower

"In this addition to the Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers (AWMR) series, Michael Fontaine offers new and fresh translations of two key texts on coping with internal appetites and external pressure, with different perspectives. The first text is an essay by Plutarch, focusing on moral weakness. We comply to things we know are wrong not because we lack confidence, Plutarch says, but because we're too sensitive. We're people-pleasers. Pushovers. So, we cave in. We would rather say "yes" to an unreasonable request than experience the shame, guilt, and potential embarrassment of refusing it. Plutarch provides several examples in which such dilemmas may arise, including voting on policy, lending money, and lying for someone else. When we surrender to such requests, Plutarch blames an emotion that he calls "dysopia," which amounts to an oversensitivity to shame. Plutarch offers a set of practical recommendations and steps we can take to resist pressure, to grow in confidence, and to stop saying "yes" against our better judgment. The second text is Psychomachia, a short epic poem written in Latin by the Late Antique Christian poet Prudentius. The poem describes the battle in us all to slay our inner demons and win peace of mind. It is told episodically in five pairs of duels: 1) Faith vs. Worship of the Old Gods, 2) Chastity vs. Lust, 3) Humility vs. Pride, 4) Sobriety vs. Indulgence, 5) Reason vs. Greed, and 6) Concord vs. Discord. In this dramatic allegory, the combatants who wage the war-the "coping mechanisms"-and slay those demons are all women. These warrior women suit up in armor like valkyries, face their enemies, swing their swords, and walk away victorious. In the end, they crown their victory by constructing a shrine to Peace. Blending the classical and Christian conceptions of virtues and temptations from these two texts, Fontaine shows what these dueling terms mean today, speaking to those with bad habits and any who are interested in resilience"--