I came across this a while back and thought it interesting at the time but I didn't have time to investigate it thoroughly. Not sure that I have that time today either, but at least I'm going to write a tiny blurb about it. After all, we're in the season of resolutions and all.
Losing weight (or starting exercising or quitting smoking or writing papers, etc.) is difficult. We all know that. We go through all sorts of psychological (and sometimes physical) acrobatics to trick ourselves into setting a goal and then meeting it. And 9 times out of 10 (yes, I made those stats up....I have no idea what the real stats are, but they're big) we fail.
There are a couple of economists, originally from Yale, who think they have discovered a way to help people meet their goals. They've set up a website that is quite intriguing.
http://www.stickk.com/login.php
They let people set the goal themselves (e.g., lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks) and then they have the people put a price tag on this goal. In other words, how much are you willing to risk, should you not reach your goal? Now...hopefully you reach it. BUT...if you should fail? You pay.
So, let's say that you are willing to risk $200 to lose the 10 pounds in 10 weeks. You pay $200 up front. Then, each week you "weigh in" and if you haven't lost 1 pound, they deduct $20 from your account. If you DO lose the 1 pound required for that week, the money stays in your account. At the end of the 10 weeks, you get back whatever is left in your account. They send whatever you "lost" to a charity of your choosing. These are some of the charities that they are currently sending money to:
NOW! An interesting twist! They also have a list of anti-charities that you can choose to have your money sent to (if you fail to meet your sub-goals). This is really quite a brilliant idea. You specify ahead of time some organizations that you are REALLY opposed to and would NEVER willingly support. This, of course, provides extra incentive because some people will damned if they are going to be willing to NOT go work out, knowing that their hard-earned money will be going to the Young Republicans if they are not down a pound at the end of the week!!
Yes, this whole thing either requires honesty/ethics (which seems to be in short supply in our world if I go by some of the things I witness on a daily basis. Ay! ...but that is topic for another day) OR it requires a "referee/partner" who will report for you (to keep you honest).
Truly, the website above does a much better job of describing themselves than I do. Just click it and read. Alternatively, there are articles all over the place regarding this particular site, but I'll provide you with two to get you started reading. http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10661442
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dorie-clark/four-new-years-resolution_b_802692.html
Thoughts?
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