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Making rewards work

Happier Holidays with Club Soda Running out of steam Making rewards work

Understanding your motivation will make a big difference in how you approach rewards. If you are strongly intrinsically motivated, too many rewards can actually reduce your chances of success. For you, it might be enough just to quietly acknowledge your sense of achievement. Change can a reward enough in itself.

But if you tend to be extrinsically motivated, rewards can be powerful tools to support you to change your behaviour. The promise of a reward can be just what you need to keep going. Rewards are a great motivation booster when you don’t feel enthusiastic about something.

Almost anything can be a reward, as long as it meets these four criteria:

  • Purpose. A reward must be special, not something you would do anyway. That’s why going to bed isn’t a reward, but sleeping in the next morning could be.
  • Proportion. A reward should be in proportion to the effort you’ve put into attaining it. A spa day might be a great reward to mark one year of mindful drinking, but for one week? Maybe not.
  • Postponement. The reward should come after the task. So keep the alcohol-free fizz on ice until you’ve achieved what you set out to do.
  • Pleasure. It should go without saying, but your reward should make you happy. Focus on sensory pleasures. What do you see, hear, taste, smell and touch that brings you joy?

If you’re extrinsically motivated, build rewards into your plans. How will you celebrate when everything works out?

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