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Money as a Motivator

istock_000005058858xsmallWhat motivates you? Is it money? Is it something else entirely? And if it is money, how much will it take to get you to take an action you might have otherwise avoided?

When the action in question is losing weight and keeping it off, the results of a new study seem to indicate that money may not do the trick. Here’s what went down according to The New York Times:

“Researchers studied 2,407 overweight and obese people enrolled in weight-loss schemes at their jobs. Participants were divided into three groups. The first received $60 for keeping a 5 percent weight loss for a year. The second agreed to pay about $100; the money would be returned if they lost 5 percent of their weight, and they would get bonuses for losing more. The third, a control group, was offered only $20, a reward for staying in the program for a year. The study , published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, found that money had very little effect. The group that was offered $60 lost an average of just 1.4 pounds, while the controls lost 1.8. Those who made the $100 deposit dropped an average of 1.9 pounds more than the controls, but, the authors write, people motivated enough to risk their own money would most likely have lost weight with any program.”

Personally, I think the problem with this study was that there wasn’t enough money at stake. The founders of Stickk.com, a website that allows you to motivate yourself into the behavior of your choice by setting your own hurdles, corralling your friends to nudge you electronically to meet them, and in some cases, self-imposing a monetary payout for failure, have written about their own successes losing weight for money.

What was different about their experiences? Two things. The amount of money in question was enough to cause discomfort (not true in the NBER study). And, if they failed to meet their goals, that money had to be paid to a person or cause they detested. That added another motivating element to the mix.

I know from the research I did for The Difference that in order to reach a goal, you’re best off wanting it for yourself for a reason that will bring good in your life. You have to want to make the change. Or, at least be thinking about wanting to make the change. But I’m wondering…how much money would it take you to lose weight? Start exercising? Stop smoking? Or do something else that’s actually good for you – but which you have no real desire to do….