You know, I don't think I'd take money from someone for losing weight if it wasn't something I wanted to do anyway. But if I already had a goal of doing it, I would say sure, bring on the incentive!
I think it's also the idea of a bonus for good work. If I was a street sweeper and was told that I'd get a bonus for clean streets during leaf season, I'd probably be more dedicated than normal. Weight loss is work, and while it's nice to say that better health should be enough of an incentive, we see too much evidence around us that tells us it isn't.
Beginning a diet and fitness program is hard. You have to change your habits, say no to old foods, be conscious about new ones, and sustain the effort for a long time. I think that's why we welcome anything that gives us motivation -- whether it's a class reunion, a health issue or, in this case, financial incentive. Once you get started, momentum can take over, and your reward can be how you feel, how much more exercise you are able to do without tiring, and how you look in that pair of skinny jeans that's been sitting on the shelf in the closet for way too long.
We could actually do this for ourselves -- tell ourselves that for every pound we lose, a certain amount of money goes into a jar, and when we make our goal, it's splurge money, meant to be spent with no guilt on something for ourselves. Perhaps seeing the money stack up in the jar would be as much a motivation as seeing the number go down on the scale.
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Susan, what a fascinating study!
You know, I don't think I'd take money from someone for losing weight if it wasn't something I wanted to do anyway. But if I already had a goal of doing it, I would say sure, bring on the incentive!
I think it's also the idea of a bonus for good work. If I was a street sweeper and was told that I'd get a bonus for clean streets during leaf season, I'd probably be more dedicated than normal. Weight loss is work, and while it's nice to say that better health should be enough of an incentive, we see too much evidence around us that tells us it isn't.
Beginning a diet and fitness program is hard. You have to change your habits, say no to old foods, be conscious about new ones, and sustain the effort for a long time. I think that's why we welcome anything that gives us motivation -- whether it's a class reunion, a health issue or, in this case, financial incentive. Once you get started, momentum can take over, and your reward can be how you feel, how much more exercise you are able to do without tiring, and how you look in that pair of skinny jeans that's been sitting on the shelf in the closet for way too long.
We could actually do this for ourselves -- tell ourselves that for every pound we lose, a certain amount of money goes into a jar, and when we make our goal, it's splurge money, meant to be spent with no guilt on something for ourselves. Perhaps seeing the money stack up in the jar would be as much a motivation as seeing the number go down on the scale.
December 15, 2008 - 10:06amThis Comment
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