Willpower Behind the Wheel

According to Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, by Roy Baumeister and John Tierney, we exercise willpower whenever we strive to control our thoughts, actions, or feelings.  And we all fatigue as we use our willpower, as if we were doing push-up after push-up.  Just as with physical exercise, we need time for rest and recover before we can do another round of willpower "push-ups".

A good example in my life lately involves teaching my 16 year old how to drive.  He wants to accumulate 50 hours of practice as fast as he can so he wants our driving sessions to last as long as possible.  But I know that driving taxes his willpower.  He has to force himself to focus.  He has to control his thoughts.  He has to remember to look in his blind spot before changing lanes, to monitor his position in the lane on the road, to figure out what other cars and pedestrians might be doing, to remember to start and stop smoothly.  I can see now when this becomes too much for him, starts to make mistakes, and then the lesson is over for the day.