11 Surprising Things That Affect Your Willpower And Decision Making

Mark Zuckerberg wears the same gray T-shirt every day.

Being a boring dresser helps him take care of his brain, the Facebook CEO says.

"I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible," he explained in a recent Q&A.

A growing body of research shows that the willpower used in decision-making is like a muscle.

As Florida State psychologist Roy Baumeister details in his book "Willpower: The Greatest Human Strength," you can only use so much willpower in a given day.

That's why many executives, like Zuck, avoid tapping into their willpower reserves by limiting the number of decisions they have to make. "I feel like I'm not doing my job if I spend any of my energy on things that are silly or frivolous about my life," he said.

As Baumeister's research has revealed, willpower and decision-making are interconnected. The house you grew up in, the number of decisions you made today, and what your friends are doing all affect your decisions in weird ways.