The Will, The Way, and Everything In Between
"Where there's a will, there's a way." It's the kind of motivational poster wisdom that makes you want to both frame it and throw it across the room. Because while determination can move mountains, it can also leave you exhausted and digging at bedrock with a plastic spoon.
The reality we all know is that sometimes you've got all the will in the world, but you hit a wall that won't budge. Other times, the path forward is crystal clear, but you just can’t will yourself to take the first steps. And occasionally, having too many paths forward can paralyze you completely.
So whether you’re trying to make a career change or just trying to get up off the couch, let’s talk about this old adage from a behavioral science perspective. Is it really as simple as it sounds?
A Will, But No Way
The idea that “where there’s a will, there’s a way” can feel empowering because it puts us in the driver’s seat. Work hard enough, want it badly enough, and the world will bend to your determination.
The problem with this narrative is that it can blind us to structural limitations that no amount of individual will can overcome. When we can’t find “a way”, we might assume we lack sufficient grit rather than examining whether a viable path actually exists.
It’s not you, it’s me
Sayings that put strong emphasis on individual agency (such as “pull yourself up by your bootstraps”) treat systemic barriers as personal failings. While personal responsibility matters, this unnecessarily converts external obstacles into shame and self-blame. Those feelings can in turn reinforce or reproduce the social norm of failure always being personal.1
But at some point, sustained investment in something despite insurmountable obstacles becomes counterproductive. It damages our self-esteem, well-being, and our future prospects when we don’t pivot appropriately. Sometimes the most rational, compassionate, and productive response is recognizing when to change course.2,3
The illusion of control
Understanding the influence of external factors becomes especially important when we consider that people tend to hold untrue beliefs about their ability to control outcomes that are, in reality, determined entirely by chance. Some may call this optimism, but behavioral science tells us that this is just one of the many ways humans behave irrationally.2,3
Furthermore, the research has shown that the more invested we are in something, the more likely we are to overestimate our control over it. In one study, participants who received lottery numbers gradually over several days were significantly more likely to keep their tickets even when offered significantly better odds elsewhere, compared to those who got all numbers at once. They had developed an irrational sense of influence over a purely random outcome just because they felt more involved in the process.3
While the lottery is not usually what people are referring to when saying “where there’s a will, there’s a way”, the lesson here is to be wary of forgoing a more favorable option so that we can stay on a path that we’ve already put effort into. Sometimes our will should be redirected so that we can balance our desires and external factors that may be out of our control. It may mean letting go of something we’re invested in, but avoiding the sunk cost fallacy means knowing when it’s time to move forward with something else.4
References
- Anable, A. (2018). Chapter 4: Games to Fail With. In Playing with Feelings: Video Games and Affect. essay, University of Minnesota Press.
- Langer, E. J. (n.d.). The illusion of control. American Psychological Association. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1977-03333-001
- Clark, L., & Wohl, M. J. A. (2021, September 18). Langer’s illusion of control and the cognitive model of disordered gambling. Addiction. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9292938/
- Pilat, D., & Krastev, S. (n.d.). Sunk Cost Fallacy. The Decision Lab. https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/the-sunk-cost-fallacy
- Lieberman, C. (2019, March 25). Why You Procrastinate (It Has Nothing to Do With Self-Control). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/smarter-living/why-you-procrastinate-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-self-control.html
- Pilat, D., & Krastev, S. (n.d.). Procrastination. The Decision Lab. https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/psychology/procrastination
- Ainslie, G. W. (n.d.). Impulse control in pigeons. Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16811760/
- Pilat, D., & Krastev, S. (n.d.). Hyperbolic discounting. The Decision Lab. https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/hyperbolic-discounting
- Pilat, D., & Krastev, S. (n.d.-a). Intention-Action Gap. The Decision Lab. https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/psychology/intention-action-gap
- Kurth-Nelson, Z., & Redish, A. D. (2012, October 8). Don’t Let Me Do That! - Models of Precommitment. Frontiers in neuroscience. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3465853/
- Ariely, D., & Wertenbroch, K. (2002, May). Procrastination, deadlines, and performance: Self-control by precommitment. Sage Journals. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/1467-9280.00441
- B, S. (2000, January). Self-determination. The Tyranny of Freedom. The American psychologist. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11392868/
- Iyengar, S. S., Wells, R. E., & Schwartz, B. (2006, February). Doing Better but Feeling Worse. American Psychological Association. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-02115-009
- Pilat, D., & Krastev, S. (n.d.). Choice Overload. The Decision Lab. https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/psychology/choice-overload
About the Author
Sophie Cleff
Sophie is a Consultant at The Decision Lab. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Immunology from McGill University. She is passionate about applying her research background to interdisciplinary problems, especially related to public health. Before joining The Decision Lab, Sophie worked with the Montreal Children’s Hospital and Translating Emergency Knowledge for Kids (TREKK) to increase the quality, safety, and integrity of research in pediatric medicine. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting and playing the guitar.
About us
We are the leading applied research & innovation consultancy
Our insights are leveraged by the most ambitious organizations
“
I was blown away with their application and translation of behavioral science into practice. They took a very complex ecosystem and created a series of interventions using an innovative mix of the latest research and creative client co-creation. I was so impressed at the final product they created, which was hugely comprehensive despite the large scope of the client being of the world's most far-reaching and best known consumer brands. I'm excited to see what we can create together in the future.
Heather McKee
BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST
GLOBAL COFFEEHOUSE CHAIN PROJECT
OUR CLIENT SUCCESS
$0M
Annual Revenue Increase
By launching a behavioral science practice at the core of the organization, we helped one of the largest insurers in North America realize $30M increase in annual revenue.
0%
Increase in Monthly Users
By redesigning North America's first national digital platform for mental health, we achieved a 52% lift in monthly users and an 83% improvement on clinical assessment.
0%
Reduction In Design Time
By designing a new process and getting buy-in from the C-Suite team, we helped one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in the world reduce software design time by 75%.
0%
Reduction in Client Drop-Off
By implementing targeted nudges based on proactive interventions, we reduced drop-off rates for 450,000 clients belonging to USA's oldest debt consolidation organizations by 46%
