Imagine a regular day at work. You are sitting at your desk with two work projects. One is an ordinary task that you can complete without all your attention, and the other is a difficult brainteaser that demands hours of focused energy. Which would you choose to do first? Why do some people gravitate toward difficult challenges instead of avoiding them?
Psychology suggests the explanation for this question may lie in your beliefs about your own inner will. A 2026 study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General by Christopher Mlynski, Georgia Clay, Julia Jankowski, and Veronika Job found that the explicit and implicit beliefs about willpower you hold influence how likely you are to approach or shy away from challenging tasks.
