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Forfeits and Rewards - Snow Joke

Forfeits and Rewards – Snow Joke

As the snow fell this morning, I thought… oh no! One of my Olympic Challenge habits was immediately under threat!

And under normal circumstances, perhaps that’s the sort of thing to curtail good intentions for many people.

So when there’s a blizzard outside, and we have a run to go on, or a power-walk, or a trip to the gym, or whatever, we can get derailed. And the same goes for business related habits. There are always a thousand reasons not to make that call, or work on that report, or any number of pro-active business activities (particularly in the sales and marketing arena… and particularly for small business owners). Learning to overcome these is the power of The Olympic Challenge.

Which is where the forfeits and rewards come in…

The idea is to have things to motivate you, that make you just get on with the challenge on days when you would normally have given up. The forfeit is particularly powerful here, and certainly focuses the mind, especially if the prospect of paying the forfeit genuinely does scare the life out of you!

Another factor in keeping going here is the sharing of the challenge. The fact that we are “buddying up” with others on the commitment gives us another reason to just do it, even when circumstances have conspired against you.

After all, if people have made an explicit promise that they will do it, and it’s a written commitment, that's like a promise, a contract, isn't it. In fact, I know that when people embark on the programme, they are making a huge step onto the commitment ladder simply by writing down their habits, and then adding a reward and a forfeit. And we want to keep our promises don’t we.

date: 02/02/2010

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