There is a secret to rewards. It is an obvious surprise. Something we know but have difficulty remembering.
It is no surprise that rewards are good. We work for rewards. There are extrinsic rewards, such as money, position and status. You wouldn’t keep going to the office, if they stopped paying you.
We also work for intrinsic rewards, such as self-esteem, charity and personal accomplishment. We invest yourself in our projects.
Rewards are important. They keep us focused and motivated. They are a part of everyday life.
But the secret to rewards is:
Givers have to guess.
Givers can’t decide if something is rewarding. They have to guess. Only the recipient knows if something is rewarding. Only receivers can say if they really wanted a Hawaiian shirt, oversized-socks and a football helmet for Valentine’s Day.
That’s why it’s important to reward yourself. You know the secret. You know what you find rewarding. You are best rewarder possible, so use your power for good.
Tony Robbins suggests that you celebrate as soon as you complete a task, regardless if it is large or small. The idea is to build on your success.
The advantage of self-rewards is that you know what’s rewarding. You don’t have to guess. You have a built-in hierarchy of desired outcomes. You immediately know if a sweatshirt or a Hawaiian shirt is high or low on your priority list.
Warning: It’s easy to reward yourself with things that are self-destructive. Try to avoid rewarding yourself with food, alcohol, and time wasting activities. Don’t make hurting your long-range plans part of your short-term reward strategy.
The challenge is to reward yourself in the short-term with thing that will help you in the long-term. Here are some suggestions:
- Reward yourself with remembering past accomplishments
- Reward yourself with time in a peaceful environment
- Reward yourself with an inspirational video
- Reward yourself with reading a chapter of a book
- Reward yourself with an online lesson
Remember that the best judge of what is rewarding for you is you. I reward myself by channeling Tony Robbins. As my inner-Tony-Robbins would say:
Take the offensive. Reward yourself to success.