With New Years come and gone many of us look to completing our new years resolutions. Like many out there I have the tried and true “exercise more” resolution. Usually this fizzles out after the first week however this year things are different.
Step 1: Clear Definition of What You Want To Accomplish
I am going to workout for 30 mins each day, 5 days a week.
This is where many people fall down because there is nothing making you follow thru with your plan.
Step 2: Get An Accountability Buddy
Each time I workout I email my friend John telling him I just finished my workout.
John adds up all the emails and if its less than 5 times in a week I have to incur a penalty.
Step 3: The Penalty
I have given John an envelope with $50 in it. If I have worked out less than 5 times in that week he gets to keep it.
When your alarm goes off at 6am and you are trying to decide whether to go back to sleep for an hour or get up and exercise the thought that you will instantly lose a respectable sum of money if you don’t creeps into your thoughts. This, so far has been more than enough motivation to get up and Just Do It.
I’m sure this plan will evolve over time but for now the negative reenforcement of losing money gets me up almost instantly.
/Ethan
