50. Want to make a habit stick? Find a stick

Edric Subur
Aug 9, 2017 · 2 min read

This post marks a halfway point in my 100 Naked Words challenge. There’s been a lot of challenging moments coming this far and I am pretty proud for making it to day 50.

I’ve never been someone who’s good at sticking to something. I get all excited in the beginning but I tend to lose motivation half way and would call it quits.

I went through the same thing with this project. I was very pumped in the beginning. I would write and post every single day. But a few weeks in, I started running out of ideas, more commitments took priority and my motivation started fizzling out. Soon after, I started skipping days.

When I hit 3 days of skipping my writing, I knew I had to do something. I didn’t want this to be just another project that I abandon halfway.

So I got myself an accountability buddy. Now, this is not anything new. I have done this a couple times. But what’s always missing in my system is the stick. When it comes to self-initiating something, there needs to be a powerful force that pushes us to continue. And having someone to check on me is not powerful enough.

I could have gone with carrots but studies have shown that humans are more motivated by potential loss than potential reward. So I went with the stick.

I made an agreement with my accountability buddy to pay him $20 for each day I didn’t publish my writing. And the result has been incredibly effective. This is the 11th day I’ve been back writing back-to-back consecutively. Every day I would just be thinking about that $20 that I might lose. I could have spent it on a good meal, a nice wine or an Uber ride home. It’s quit a big sum and I don’t want to waste it when I know that I can prevent it. And this thought just keeps hounding me, in a positive way, to produce my post night after night.

After many abortive attempts of implementing a new habit, I think I’ve finally cracked the secret to making it stick. Find a stick.

Edric Subur

Written by

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade