As I write this it’s 8.22 PM.
It’s been a very productive day here at Toronto boot camp, I’ve had several appointments, and a really interesting conference call (tell you about it some other time). But I’ve spent most of my day answering interview questions for a new book on fitness (also for another time).
The interviewer asked me if I could answer a few questions. As it turns out “a few questions” meant 23 questions, and I was urged to include “as much detail as possible” in my answers.
There’s still a few phone calls to make, text messages to send, and let’s not forget the leg workout I had planned.
But before I go, I wanted to send you a simple formula you can use to guarantee you’ll stick to your New Year’s resolutions this year. It’s called Risk, Reward, Accountability. We at Toronto Boot Camp have used this technique in the past with great results.
I once met a lady who’s son was afflicted with a rare disease. The family went hundreds of thousands in dollars in debt because of the medical bills. One day she receives a letter from the power company saying that her payment was past due and they were about to shut off the electricity. This was electricity that powered the machines keeping her son alive.
She interpreted that letter as saying, “we’re going to kill your son.” And she resolved that she wouldn’t lose her family. I couldn’t tell you how exactly, but in the six months that followed she went from beyond broke to a net worth of over three million dollars using real estate investing, and saved her family for good.
True story.
The point is that pain, or the fear of pain can be a powerful motivator. Sometimes more powerful than pleasure.
Weddings, high shool reunions, photo shoots, vacations – all are powerful external motivators for losing weight. But which emotion is the driving force: the desire to look good, or the fear of looking bad? Think about that.
The answer is that it’s different for each person. Some people may even have a pretty even mix of both going on.
So here’s my take on this: you could spend a lot of time figuring out if you’re more motivated by the pursuit of pleasure or the avoidance of pain, or you could just leverage both of these and get it over with! That way you get what you want faster. Sound good?
Ok, so it’s quite simple really. First, decide what you want to commit to. Just be sure it’s really something you want to commit to, because there’s no backing down with this Toronto boot camp exercise.
Also, it’s probably best to choose something connected to a process as opposed to a specific outcome. Allow me to explain. Losing a specific number of pounds in a set time period is a lot more difficult to control than committing to, for example, doing three workouts per week during the same time period.
If you’d like to lose a set number of pounds, that’s fine. Commit to DOING something that will get you there, make sense? Great.
Once you’ve chosen what you’d like to commit to, you must place a reward on it’s achievement.
“If I do ‘x’, I will…(buy a new pair of shoes, enjoy a day at the spa, buy a new dress, eat at that desert place I’ve been dying to try, have a shopping weekend in New York, or some combination of these)”. You get the idea. Be creative. Have fun with this part. Dream up something really juicy.
Next, you must also place a risk or a penalty on the failure to achieve what you’re committing to. “If I don’t do ‘x’, I will…(donate $1,000 to charity, give $500 to my sister, shave my head bald, wear a dress for a day – if a man, wear a false mustache for a day – if a woman)”.
A bit of advice: don’t wuss out on this part. There has to be real pain involved with whatever scenario you come up with. Make it something you definitely want to avoid. I find financial penalties work really well. Make it a sum of money you are very uncomfortable parting with!
Finally, you need to find someone impartial to keep you accountable to your commitment. Someone who is going to help you see this scenario to its ultimate completion.
Have your lawyer put $5,000 in escrow, and you don’t get it back unless certain conditions are met. You’re laughing, but you’d want your money back, wouldn’t you? What would you be willing to do to get it?
Another bit of advice: spouses are usually not very impartial judges. Look elsewhere.
Once all of this is in place, you follow through on your commitment, NO-MATTER-WHAT! There are no exceptions to this Toronto boot camp technique. You commited to exercising three days a week and you broke your leg? Too bad! Use the other one. No exceptions. That’s the rule.
You can have some fun with this, but you’ll need to take it seriously for it to work. I’ve hit some major milestones very quickly using this strategy. It’s powerful.
There you have it. Risk, Reward, Accountability – your ticket to rapid weight loss!
It’s 9.04 now. Time for that leg workout.
To Your Success,
Conor Kelly, TORONTO BOOT CAMP
