So I host a small discussion with a few friends. It is designed to have a safe space to discuss all things money. Because unlike me most people do not openly discuss this thing.
TIP: FIND SAFE SPACES WITH PEOPLE YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING WITH.
We discuss everything from budgeting to debt payment to investing. It is an awesome time. I get to teach which I really enjoy doing (plus I get to test ideas on them before sharing it on Tiktok or IG or YouTube). In return, they get to understand money in a new way.
In our last session, I asked everyone if they had any big money goals or accomplishments. One of my friends announced that she paid off one of her credit cards. Which got me all the way pumped!
She tried to downplay it because it was the smallest of her debts. You already know there was no way I was gonna allow her to do that. I like to hype people up for their accomplishments no matter how small. So in order to get her excited, I made a promise to buy her a cupcake
Which of course got everyone else on the call EXCITED. So they all started listing their accomplishments (five minutes before this, they were all SILENT when I asked) no matter how small it was. So I decided to make a promise to everyone. Every time they accomplish a goal, we will celebrate their victory. No matter how small!
This got me thinking
As you know I love talking about the weirdness of our brains. One thing I have realized is the importance of incentives. I can say I want to achieve something really badly but if I do not attach some kind of benefit for achieving that thing or attach some kind of reward for achieving that thing. I usually end up never achieving those things. Because my brain perceives it as not as important. So it will prioritize the things that have set incentives for. Here is an example
I started working out very regularly because I told myself if I work out hard enough during the week I can get Zaxby’s or Chick-Fil-A on the weekends. Just that little bit of dopamine hit of thinking about going to Zaxby’s, forces my brain to find ways to make going to the gym a priority. My brain begins to make schedules of the day ahead in the background to ensure that nothing gets in the way of me going to the gym everyday. Eventually the good feelings of eating Zaxby’s are totally linked with working out.
The thing about having incentives, is that it reinforces the behaviors you want to reinforce and unlearns the behaviors you want to unlearn. It is a sort of brain hack to get you to act in the way you want to act. The ironic thing is this is not new. You already do this every single day without realizing it. I came to this realization when talking with a friend of mine one day. He said:
we all know how much incentives work for us at our jobs. When they say, “If you hit this criteria, you will get a bonus. Or if you get this certification you can get a promotion.” However, we never choose to use those same incentives in our own daily lives. Getting up goals and rewards for achieving certain things.
Every business knows that incentives is how you get your workers to do things in a certain way or customers to be return customers. Think about that Chick-Fil-A app or any other reward program you may have joined. It is designed to give you an incentive to comeback to the store. Social Media is the same way, likes, comments, etc. Everything is designed to teach you to keep coming back.
Notice that in every single situation listed above, it is just simple actions connected to simple rewards. SO why not do the same thing for ourselves?
When we accomplish goals, REWARD yourself.
It does not have to be with spending money
maybe call up a friend, who will be willing to listen to you brag for a bit and just boast about yourself.
Or get a small treat (like this $3 cupcake).
Those joyous moments release dopamine which ties that happy feeling to accomplishing that goal. Making chasing even bigger goals seem like an enjoyable task because you can see not just the reward or accomplishing the goal itself but also the actual tangible reward.
So celebrate those small victories because as they say
I hope you all have A WONDERFUL week and weekend. You can also catch me on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube everyday. Subscribe to the Rambling Mind Podcast to hear me talk about Personal Finance and Business News on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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Remember GENEROSITY > greed
God bless Each and Everyone of y’all
✌🏾
-Kelechi