Rewardin’ My Self

For any who have read this blog over the last several years, you know I’m big on goals. I love to set them. I love to achieve them. One might say I’m a little too obsessed with them. I have a tendency to set my aspirations a little too high, which is why I rarely meet them. That’s just how I roll. I know some people find this discouraging, but I believe if you reach for a high goal, even if you don’t make it, you are bound to end up somewhere great.

But as much as I love to make goals, and strive to achieve them, I’m not great at celebrating those achievements. Most years, I set a reward for myself if I ‘win’ Nanowrimo, but I can only think of one instance where I actually bought myself the reward. Last year, I wrote almost 20k in five days because I so desperately wanted the prize I promised myself, and I am still yet to purchase it.

We are now halfway through 2024, and I’m trying to get back onto my goals again. I still have a few things I want to accomplish this year, and I haven’t done nearly as much towards achieving those goals as I would like. So I’ve set up a new system of monitoring and achieving my goals. And with that I selected another round of rewards to gift myself if I achieve these goals. And so far, I’m doing a little better rewarding myself than I have in the past. 

But I’ve only managed to do that by applying these new rules for the prizes that can be awarded and the way that I give myself those gifts.

1. Set prizes I really want. Often I convince myself I want a certain prize for achieving a reward that isn’t what I actually want. And therefore it is not all that motivating. For years I have set rewards for meeting my workout goals that I didn’t really want. Usually I would set a goal of more workout classes, workout clothes, DVDs and music too workout to. These were the type of goals I thought I should get for this goal, but in truth it always felt like a reward of hard work with more work. No thank you. Instead this last month, I am rewarding myself with money towards house purchases. Things I want to buy, but always convince myself I don’t really need. Nothing to do with working out at all. Turns out I find getting a new mirror for my bathroom, or a milk frothier just because I’d like it, is far more motivating than new workout gear or yoga classes could ever be.

2. Make them frivolous. I tend to be a very frugal person. I don’t really like to buy things, and often convince myself I don’t need anything. Which is all well and good most of the time, but when it comes to being motived, the practical doesn’t do it. To find something that will encourage me to push that extra mile it has to be something I wouldn’t normally buy myself. Something a little extra, and frivolous. And making these rewards all the more special.

3. Immediately gratification. One of the issues I’ve had in the past is that I often forced myself to wait to receive a reward I’ve earned. Sometimes it’s because I’m waiting for the reward to be available, but most often it’s just because it doesn’t seem crucial. I’ll put off getting a reward, thinking that I can just get it later. But when I put off receiving that prize, not only do I not get the serotonin spike for achieving the goal, but I often convince myself it’s been so long since I was supposed to get the reward and I didn’t, so I don’t really need it. For this set of goals, I’m purchasing the rewards (or move money into an account if that is the reward) right after achieving the goal. Minutes after if possible. No doing it later. No thinking about, it which leads to not getting anything. Immediate gratification, and immediate celebration.

These are all the ways I am changing my system to reward myself for what I accomplish. And I hope, that by making these changes, and giving myself the rewards I deserve, it will not only be more motivating to me to complete my goals but also more rewarding. I want to start learning to fulfill the promises that I make to myself, and improve my ability to believe in myself and what I can do.

What tricks do you use to motivate yourself? Do you offer yourself rewards? And if so, what are they? I’d love to hear in the comments below.