How to successfully lose weight? How to avoid procrastination? How to help children get rid of the harm of phones and other electronic products? How to balance work and life? … The solution to any of the above questions requires one of the most important human abilities: self-control, which has become a key ability for us to deal with various temptations and challenges.
Recently, the new book “Decoding Self-Control: The Secret of Success and Happiness in Life” (referred to as “Decoding Self-Control” below) published by the Machinery Industry Press has officially hit the market. The book was collaboratively created by Professor Zheng Yuhuang, a doctoral supervisor at the School of Economics and Management of Tsinghua University, and Dr. Zhang Mingming, a postdoctoral researcher at Beijing Institute of Technology, to provide readers with a scientifically effective guide to enhancing self-control.
Professor Zheng Yuhuang is not only an outstanding scholar in the Marketing Department of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University, but also widely recognized as a “Chinese advocate of scientific marketing.” He holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University in the United States and has furthered his studies at top institutions such as Tsinghua University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. With profound academic accomplishments, his research focuses on marketing strategy and consumer psychology, and he is one of the scholars in the field of self-control with the most published papers in the country. During his Ph.D. studies at Columbia University, he delved deep into the study of self-control. After returning to Tsinghua University as a faculty member, he led several research projects on self-control funded by the National Natural Science Foundation, one of which received the highest honor “Excellent” in the final evaluation by the National Natural Science Foundation Commission. He has published dozens of papers in top academic journals at home and abroad, such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, and Journal of Consumer Psychology. His research achievements have been reported by authoritative media outlets such as Science and Forbes. The publication of “Decoding Self-Control” is another masterpiece of Professor Zheng in the field of self-control research, aiming to help readers enhance self-control through scientific methods and strategies to better tackle various challenges in life.
This book is a culmination in the field of self-control, not only containing the essence of the author’s over 20 years of self-control research, but also including the major research results in the global self-control field over the past few decades. It covers the classic theories of over 10 global self-control research masters, including the father of the marshmallow experiment, Walter Mischel, and the author of “Willpower,” Roy Baumeister, offering a comprehensive understanding of the entire field of self-control research in just one book.
To enhance the readability and practicality of the book, “Decoding Self-Control” provides a detailed introduction to the scientific principles behind self-control and offers scientifically effective strategies for enhancing self-control along with a wealth of vivid and interesting case studies of self-control enhancement. Following the logic of experiment → strategy → case study, with 20 classic experiments, 10 major strategies for enhancing self-control, and 10 vivid case studies of celebrities from home and abroad, the book helps readers understand and improve self-control. The book is easy to understand and has a broad audience. It is suitable for students and parents to quickly grasp self-control strategies, break free from dependence on electronic products, and cultivate self-control; suitable for all professionals to understand the science behind self-control, systematically learn the principles and strategies of self-control, and make better career and life decisions.
The book has been highly recommended by professors from prestigious universities such as Harvard, Wharton, MIT, Tsinghua, Peking University, and various figures from all walks of life including Peng Kaiping, Yu Minhong, Fan Deng, and Xia Boyu. As the author puts it, “I wrote this book with the aim of helping more people improve their self-control so that they can be more successful and happier in their careers, studies, or lives. However, I absolutely do not advocate excessive self-control. On the contrary, I advocate enjoying life appropriately while enhancing self-control, thus having a balanced and beautiful life.”
