How Are Those Resolutions Going?

• Posted by Sami Brown January 7, 2015 1,124 views
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  Last week some of you made your annual New Year's resolutions, and many of you may be struggling or already failed. I want to let you in on a little secret that is working beautifully for me.

   

  I have always struggled with resolutions, so I quit making them. In fact, I often struggle with goals in general. I'll start with good intentions but ultimately something I feel is more important at the time displaces my momentum. I've tried promising myself a treat if I reach the goal, but what I often find is that I go ahead and treat myself anyway.

   

  Take weight, for example. I am sure many of you would like to lose a little weight this year so that you can fit into the fabulous outfit you have been eyeing for some time. I have that same goal, but I have found that I flounder. I'll do well for a while, then fall off the wagon.

   

  So here is a hint of my little secret. I've recently found that I am not motivated by rewards. Rather, I am more motivated by the possibility of punishment.

   

  Now before you think I'm a masochist, let me assure you that I am not. But I can tell you that I hate getting tickets while driving. Whenever I get a ticket, the first thing going through my mind is all of the things I could have done with the money. It's a complete waste, and I don't like it. So I drive the speed limit. I use my turn signals. I come to a complete stop at stop signs. You know what? I haven't gotten a ticket in the past 20 years or more.

   

  So say that you have a goal that is very important to you. What if you had the threat of a ticket if you didn't make progress toward that goal? Would that be enough to motivate you? Is does for me!

   

  I recently came across a website that is helping me do just that. It's a crazy idea, but it is definitely working for me. The site is Beeminder.com. What you do is setup a goal, such as losing weight. The site lets you try it for a while so that you feel the goal is obtainable. In my case, I set a goal of losing 3/4 pound a week, which is about one third of one percent of my weight. It should be an obtainable goal. So in a year, I should lose about 40 pounds.

   

  How Beeminder works is that it lets you fall off track once for free. After that, if you still want to try to accomplish the goal, you give them your credit card number. Now you have the threat of a ticket. The next time you fall off track, they charge you $5 - not much, but still a little sting. The next time, they charge you $10. After that, the level of pain increaes quickly. $30, $90, $270, and so on.

   

  The crazy part is that anyone would ever give Beeminder their credit card information voluntarily. After all, why not try to accomplish your goal without forking over your money? Well, in my case, that wasn't working. Despite trying to lose weight for two years, I am now back to where I started. That's two years of time wasted. This time I don't want to give up the fight, and I need the threat of the penalty to succeed.

   

  The good news is that if you never fall off your goal, you never pay. Yes, Beeminder can help you reach your goals without spending a single penny. I haven't yet had an expense, but for me having the threat of a ticket is enough to motivate me on a daily basis.

   

  Perhaps the reason you haven't stuck to your resolutions is that you weren't properly motivated. I am finding this year that I am doing much better, because my level of motivation is high. For once I see the possibility of actually reaching my target weight of 180 pounds, starting at 230. I have a plan, and it certainly looks more obtainable than ever before. It will finally be nice to have a waist that looks more like an hourglass and less like a beach ball. I'll keep you posted as the months proceed.

   

  xoxoxo Sami

   

  p.s., I am in no way affiliated with Beeminder.com. I am just sharing something that I have found to help me reach my goals, and I hope the advice might help you too.