When it comes to creating good habits, it can be very difficult. However, there are a few strategies to use when it comes to motivating yourself or others. As often as they are used, warnings simply don’t work. When it comes down to it, people just keep doing the wrong thing even after being warned. What is really required is fear. It may sound a bit troubling, but it works. The next strategy is rewarding yourself or others when they perform good behavior. People may warn against constant rewards for it might instill a need for a reward, but rewarding good behavior will encourage it. A third strategy used for encouraging good behavior is social incentives. Seeing a person do something good will inspire and encourage others.
When faced with a situation that is both scary and different, the first natural instinct is not to fight; the very first natural instinct is to find a way to escape. Though in reality many people tend to freeze up before running away, fighting is still a very last resort. Even during school shooting drills, the last thing recommended is to fight the attacker. The first thing recommended is to find a way to evacuate. Therefore, being faced with a scary situation will force a person to rationalize and be resilient. It is the same with threats. A threat is scary, so it will cause a person to try rationalizing and avoiding going against the threat. Everyone is different, but most people wouldn’t directly go against a serious threat on purpose. Personally, threats are either scary or unfavorable so I very much tend to focus on the task at hand rather than risk the threat.
Which leads to the next strategy: rewards. Anybody would do something if it had a good reward. Why should it be different for behavior and habits? Constant rewards are acts of encouragement that will continue to keep a person behaving and doing the right thing. It also allows for a momentary peace; the feat was conquered so now you are rewarding yourself. Depriving someone of a reward when they do something potentially difficult will decrease the chances that they would want to do that same thing again. Rewarding someone will show a person that they have what it takes to do the task at hand. Having an active reward will take the mind off the difficulty of the task and inspire the person to continue. I know for a fact that I respond better with rewards, though my mother taught me not to expect rewards in life. This is true, but when it comes to rewarding yourself, it is extremely helpful to go the extra mile.
The last strategy in terms of aiding good behavior and habits is social incentives. For example, seeing someone at the gym posting a picture will inspire the person to also go to the gym. Even if that person ultimately decides not to go, there will be a big urge. Seeing someone do anything and being successful at it will inspire a person to do that same thing. Countless times, there has been a person on the news and we all thought to ourselves, “I am going to be like them one day.” It will inspire a person to do the work necessary to achieve the goal that they set for themselves. When it comes to actually doing the work, that is where the other two strategies come in handy. I play tennis and I watch successful tennis players play all the time and it inspires me to improve. Not just a little thought but a constant recurring thought that drives me to work harder.
Good behavior and habits are to achieve; bad habits are even harder to break, but they are not impossible. There are so many strategies that it can be overwhelming when attempting to make a change habit or behavior-wise. However, these three strategies are very helpful when it comes to narrowing a target, focusing on the target, and ultimately reaching that target. It also helps that these strategies are not complicated. I use these strategies whenever I want to accomplish something. For example, business, which is one of my interests. Foremost, I would read about a successful business owner. Then, I would actively encourage myself to do the necessary work to stay informed. If I catch myself being lazy, I would threaten myself. In conclusion, I would set a reward for myself such as ice cream when I would do a satisfactory job in staying on top of my interests. I tested it, and I can absolutely say that this system works.