This is going to blow your mind:
80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by the second week of February , and of those people, only 8% actually stick to their resolutions throughout the entire year.
You might ask then:
What do those 8% of people do that the other 92% don’t ?
Most people report failing because they have difficulty maintaining the motivation or discipline to be consistent with their goals.
I’ve tried multiple frameworks that have helped me both with my health and vocational goals throughout the last 3 years.
Let me share with you 2 weird tricks that you might not know about that will keep you motivated in your goals and commitments:
1. The Marble Jar Method
I bet you never heard someone say:
“I am having trouble having the motivation to watch Netflix today…”
Why? Because it’s something you enjoy doing, the rewards are there, instantaneously and effortlessly.
When we talk about getting in shape, launching a business, or cultivating meaningful relationships, now the rewards are much further down the line.
You might find yourself exercising for weeks before you even start noticing improvements — or you might launch a business and realize nobody is interested in what you are offering, realizing you have to start all over again.
This underlines one powerful insight:
If you can make whatever you are doing more rewarding and energizing along the process, you become more motivated and consistent.
This is why fitness apps offer badges for milestones, or educational platforms use gamification to make learning more engaging.
That’s where enters the scene.
The best part?
It’s extremely simple and just as effective, that’s what I like about it.
Here’s the super simple approach:
Step 1: Get some marbles and one jar;
Step 2: Now, every time you go for that run, work on your business, call your mother, write 1000 words, or whatever your goal is, put one marble in the jar;
Step 3: When the jar is full reward yourself with something you enjoy doing, whatever it may be for you.
Now every time you work towards your goal, you can physically see the progress of the jar filling up, and that’s rewarding, and motivating.
Motivation and the feeling that we are progressing go hand in hand really.
I strongly encourage you to give it a try!
2. The Reward Flip Technique
Here’s a question for you:
What’s the most addictive behavior that is not related to a substance?
Gambling.
As it turns out, humans love unpredictable rewards.
That begs the question:
Could we use unpredictable rewards to make our desired behaviors, more rewarding, and as a result become more motivated?
Indeed we can, and here’s the super simple method I use:
Every time you do your desired behavior — toss a coin:
Heads: you get a reward (something you like doing);
Tails: no reward.
That’s it.
This simple approach takes advantage of the thrill of unpredictable rewards to make you more motivated towards achieving your goals.
Bringing it home
The Marble Jar Method: Every time you work towards your goal put one marble in the jar, when the jar gets full reward yourself with something you enjoy — when you can see the progress, you become more motivated.
The Reward Flip Technique: when you do your desired behavior — toss a coin — heads: you get a reward; tails: no reward. Humans love unpredictable rewards.
Choose one insight from today and take action on it.
You may have noticed that these strategies are not about discipline or enduring the struggle – I am not saying that’s not important and useful.
But instead of having to endure the friction, what if you can remove the friction by making your tasks more energizing and motivating? Much better right?
Last week’s newsletter was about the suffering equation and how to deal with suffering in life.
In case you missed it, here’s your chance to catch up → (Pain x Resistance = Suffering 😩)
I hope you got something valuable in this edition of Curiosity Fuel, and thank you for reading, it means the world.
It’s always an honor to be in your inbox, until next Sunday. 👋
— Idris Moura
