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How to motivate yourself without using sugar

The brain performs best when rewarded – reward it often, just don’t do it with sugar, rather fill up on non-edible feel goods

What motivates you more – the threat of a penalty or the promise of a reward ?

Wait, this whole analogy needs a rework.

Carrot or sticks updated

Personally I don’t know too many people who view a carrot, as much of a reward, let’s lose the carrot and replace it with something that can raise a hefty dose of dopamine and create a real physiological reward…..

Chocolate.

So the question again……  what motivates you ?  The chocolate or the stick ?

The chocolate of course…..

Stick thinking is old fashioned

But odds are………………  you’re being managed with a stick :

• In school, in by gone days at least, they literally hit you with a stick, now they hit you with detention.
• Fines are designed to stick your wallet.
• And many bosses, teachers, mothers, demand compliance through yelling, so loud, you want to stick your fingers in your ears.
• And it doesn’t stop here, most of us manage ourselves by saying  NO to our brain’s desires.

But research from a bunch of accounting profs from Michigan State University, has demonstrated  sticks are not all that motivating in the long run.

Of course, there is no denying that  all out terror can definitely get things done,  but  it cannot really be described as highly motivating, coercion would be a better description.  Oh dear. 

 The bonus paid off

So let’s take a look at what the research team,  discovered, when they  followed the money.  I did point out  that they were bean counters conducting this research.

The team used a simulation game.

Now the game was set up, so that participants either got to be the boss or they were the ones being bossed.   In the game, the boss could be use a carrot  or a stick approach.  Now both the stick and the “carrot” were financial.  And performance on the task was monitored.

The workers who were rewarded with a bonus, actually put in more effort.

While the workers who had their pay docked for poor performance, did not raise their game, due to the punishment, but instead did less.

Carrots are preferred

So the science shows, carrots are more motivating than sticks, nothing new here.

And we’ve already established, chocolate is more rewarding than carrots, nothing new here either.

Nibbling on sweet things IS REWARDing.

This is why you do it ! 

Maybe we can compromise with chocolate covered carrots ?

Getting hold of chocolate covered carrots

It’s going to be a challenge locating seeds that grow into chocolate covered carrots.   And it’s likely to be expensive – they’re a proprietary brand.

The other problem…………. carrots  grow slowly.

Too slow for most of us – we need instant gratification.

Plan B –  we could  just taking ordinary carrots and coating them with chocolate ?

Chocolate is fattening

BUT  working with chocolate can be a little messy and is potentially rather fattening.  Oh dear.

Actually eating chocolate and other sweet treats,  is only one way to get a squirt of dopamine, to kick start your brain into action.

I know, it’s often the preferred way, because it’s so…………….. familiar.

 Dopamine without calories

If you use your imagination, you can find a few “legal”,  non-fattening  cheap  ways, to get a quick dopamine hit.

Now you could try

• an exercise session or
• a good laugh – courtesy of a joke, a you-tube video or a movie.
• listening to a symphony, possibly while taking a bubble bath.
• hugs and kisses or a rub down by a masseuse.
• actively “killing” the bad guys in a computer game or passively doing it in front of the TV.
• a cup of coffee and a novel or if you want to avoid the caffeine rush, a spot of tea .

You get the picture.

 The brain likes rewards

And each brain is wired a little differently – so what makes your brain happy,  will be a little different from what makes my brain happy.

The POINT – brains perform best when they are rewarded.

This is why you like munching sweet things, you’re rewarding your brain for hanging in there.

Keep a stash of carrots

So you want to keep a stash metaphorical “carrots” in the house and nibble on them often.

Nibbling on non-edible feel goods, instead of sweet treats, will help get things done, while at the same time creating  BETTER BODY CHEMISTRY and better health.

This is the F in the CANDY FLOSS SYSTEM, click here to learn more.

Further reading

Want to discover more ways to create BETTER BODY CHEMISTRY ?