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part,” he said, “I start slacking almost immediately.”Bog'liq atomic-habits
part,” he said, “I start slacking almost immediately.”
Three months later, after hitting his targets for Q1, Harris upgraded his
goals. The consequences escalated, too. If he missed his carbohydrate and
protein targets, he had to pay his trainer $100. And if he failed to weigh
himself, he had to give his wife $500 to use as she saw fit. Perhaps most
painfully, if he forgot to run sprints, he had to dress up for work every day
and wear an Alabama hat the rest of the quarter—the bitter rival of his
beloved Auburn team.
The strategy worked. With his wife and trainer acting as accountability
partners and with the habit contract clarifying exactly what to do each day,
Harris lost the weight.
*
To make bad habits unsatisfying, your best option is to make them
painful in the moment. Creating a habit contract is a straightforward way to
do exactly that.
Even if you don’t want to create a full-blown habit contract, simply
having an accountability partner is useful. The comedian Margaret Cho
writes a joke or song every day. She does the “song a day” challenge with a
friend, which helps them both stay accountable. Knowing that someone is
watching can be a powerful motivator. You are less likely to procrastinate or
give up because there is an immediate cost. If you don’t follow through,
perhaps they’ll see you as untrustworthy or lazy. Suddenly, you are not only
failing to uphold your promises to yourself, but also failing to uphold your
promises to others.
You can even automate this process. Thomas Frank, an entrepreneur in
Boulder, Colorado, wakes up at 5:55 each morning. And if he doesn’t, he
has a tweet automatically scheduled that says, “It’s 6:10 and I’m not up
because I’m lazy! Reply to this for $5 via PayPal (limit 5), assuming my
alarm didn’t malfunction.”
We are always trying to present our best selves to the world. We comb
our hair and brush our teeth and dress ourselves carefully because we know
these habits are likely to get a positive reaction. We want to get good grades
and graduate from top schools to impress potential employers and mates
and our friends and family. We care about the opinions of those around us
because it helps if others like us. This is precisely why getting an
accountability partner or signing a habit contract can work so well.
Chapter Summary
The inversion of the 4th Law of Behavior Change is make it
unsatisfying.
We are less likely to repeat a bad habit if it is painful or unsatisfying.
An accountability partner can create an immediate cost to inaction. We
care deeply about what others think of us, and we do not want others
to have a lesser opinion of us.
A habit contract can be used to add a social cost to any behavior. It
makes the costs of violating your promises public and painful.
Knowing that someone else is watching you can be a powerful
motivator.
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