LOLverware courtesy of Thomas Roche on Flickr
Christine Miserandino wrote an excellent essay on living with Lupus, where she laid out what has widely become recognized as the Spoon Theory (pdf) of limited physical or psychological reserves. It applies to a lot of different conditions that folks deal with on a daily basis, and some new research suggests that all of us may have a finite supply of spoons when it comes to our day-to-day willpower reserves and self-control.
Participants in the study were asked to exercise, then do the Stroop Test for several minutes, and then exercise again. The folks who had to do the test, which is mentally but not physically challenging (saying the color of a printed word, not the color the word says — RED written in green ink should result in the subject saying “green”), were substantially less focused and performed less well in a subsequent exercise session immediately afterward. This pattern persisted throughout the course of the experiment.
Fortunately, the folks conducting the study had some good news: like most other skills (or muscles), our capacity for control and focus is something we can develop and expand with practice, giving us more spoons to play with.
Which, if you’ve taken the talent Stentorian Voice, is certainly reason to unleash a hearty battle cry of SPOOOOOOOOOON! (Being large, blue, and not too bright is optional.)
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