Bribe the Hobby
Do you remember the resolutions that you made on the first day of this year? Were you successful in keeping those resolutions?
If you think about it, often at the end of the year, we realize that we could keep up with our resolutions, maybe only for two or three months. Why does this happen? Why don’t we follow up with our resolutions?
I will tell you how to break the habit of not following up with the new year’s resolution.
If we want to complete the resolutions successfully, we must acknowledge our best friend who will help us in this journey- our psyche, our mind.
‘Bribe the Hobby’ is a technique that we can use to motivate our minds. Suppose Aman has decided to go for a walk every day for an hour. They abide by their resolution on the first day; as the third day rolls, they walk only 20 minutes. And slowly, as time passes by, they prefer to sleep instead of going for a walk. I will explain the technique by taking Aman as an example.
When applying the ‘Bribe the Hobby’ technique, Aman takes a blank sheet of paper. On one side of the paper, they write their resolutions. On the second side of the paper, they write their hobbies. Afterward, they associate resolutions with their hobbies. Suppose Aman likes to talk to their friends and listen to music. When Aman walks for an hour, they should immediately talk to their friends for about ten minutes or listen to their favourite song. They can choose any hobby to follow after completing the part of the resolution of that day. The important thing is they have to do it immediately afterward.
When you will apply this technique, make sure that you reward your mind with something that you thoroughly enjoy within an hour of completing the decided activity. If you say that I will give treats to the mind tomorrow, that will not work. Tomorrow’s reward is different than today’s reward. You will not need to reward yourself for a long time; your mind will be accustomed to the new habit. Till your habit becomes your nature, you will need to reward your mind. After that, your mind will support you to complete your resolution without any incentive.