4 days into the new year

Congratulations!

I have an idea. Ever hear of a "commitment contract"? Most people self-discipline by saying they can't do something (e.g., go to Starbucks), but doing that prohibited activity always feels good, so many fail and forget. This is hard for anybody.

A commitment contract forces you give up something initially, then you get it back when you do certain things, like exercise. The most common thing to give up is, of course, MONEY!

So here goes: Let's say you want to walk 25 min on the treadmill three times a week, fifty weeks out of the year. Each workout is worth $25. In a commitment contract, you'd pay me $3750 ($25*3*50) up front. Every time you exercise, I pay you $25; every time you miss a day, I keep the $25. Presumably, I'll make some money off you b/c you'll miss a few days, but you sure won't miss so many days that you lose a few thousand dollars. The point is that you will workout more b/c if you don't, you lose something valuable, as opposed to depriving yourself of something you enjoy.

We can do this another way too. You pay me $500. Every time you go to Starbucks, you lose (and I keep) $10, essentially making that craving $10 more expensive. Bottom line: you will have less Starbucks, but you won't be mentally depriving yourself of it either b/c you can get it whenever you want, it just costs more. If you don't like giving me money, you can keep track of things yourself, and give the $10 to charity, or toward a vacation, etc.

Sound good? Send those checks today! Don't delay!

Um, well, yes I suppose that would work! A $25 penalty fee for not exercising is painful, as is $10 (plus the actual cost) for a pastry treat at Starbucks...

How about I pay you as I go along...instead of giving you the money up front? Trust me... ;-)