Self-Management: Reward yourself
Reward yourself regularly
Nothing is worse than stubbornly working towards yourself and thinking that that alone will make you happy. While this may work for a period of time, the longer that period lasts, the greater the frustration. Because your brain has the job of making sure that you are doing well. That’s when your reward system kicks in.
And that, in turn, makes it when you can celebrate successes. In this way you express appreciation and gratitude towards yourself, you enjoy the moment and experience the good feeling of having achieved something. That’s why rewards are so important. In addition, you also soothe your inner bastard, because after all he persevered and was looking forward to a reward.
Small livestock makes crap too
Do you only think big? Graduated, got a promotion, got a job? What if college is dragging on, promotion is taking longer than expected, and the job comes with a long probationary period? What if you also rewarded yourself for small successes? Because even a small success is a success!
These small rewards are extremely important in order to persevere until a certain goal is reached. They provide the power to keep going. It doesn’t have to be anything big. Perhaps reward yourself with a good book, treat yourself to a visit to the cinema or even enjoy a wellness weekend. Be creative. It helps your motivation and gives you energy.
Don’t fall into this trap
Can’t go wrong with rewards? Not even close. Pay attention to two crucial things:
- Reward yourself only after completing your task
- Then actually reward yourself.
If you ignore these two conditions, this type of motivation no longer works. Your brain, or rather your memory from experience, registers very precisely when a reward arrives for what. If there are discrepancies, you have lost – the effect is gone.