‘Everyday’ Intelligence: Reward Your Efforts

I should like to commence with a completely unrelated to today’s topic statement:

It is so sunny and pleasant outside that I have been smiling non- stop for the past four hours.

The fact that the above might be quite an unconventional and unprofessional way of starting an article does not really bother me as:

• I have never been conventional
• I am not writing this in my professional capacity
• It is sunny outside and nothing else currently matters.

But the weather is not the only reason for my feeling exhilarated and even more positive than usual today; as I was leaving for work in the morning, there was a small parcel waiting for me downstairs- my new tie & pocket square set had arrived!

Twisted as it may sound, nothing feels quite like tying a new tie into a Windsor knot in front of the mirror.

Those who know me in person are well aware that I currently have some thirty- two tie & pocket square sets; yet, to this day, they continue to wonder why I always look so happy when I get a new one.

The answer to above query is quite simple, really- to me, each and every one of those sets represents a reward for an achievement of mine.

For instance, I bought the last set because I had managed to write over seventy original articles on my blog, all of them on different topics AND managed to keep my audience interested in reading those on a regular basis.

Many say that the mere fact that you are doing something that you will benefit from is in itself rewarding enough; I respectfully disagree.

With so many distractions around (cars, sweets, YouTube, Google, Wikipedia, BBC, Face book, Twitter, LinkedIn, SWEETS, etc.), a person needs an incentive to continue doing certain things which might become, at times, rather tedious (various projects at work, presentations, admin work, filling in application forms, ADMIN WORK) and too challenging (such as writing DAILY articles on different topics; can you imagine if someone actually did that…?).

Self- incentivisation is a rather simple system that I have adopted in high school and one that has, since, been incredibly effective.

Firstly, it is very important to realise that rewarding your efforts is of utmost importance to maintaining a positive attitude towards a certain activity.

If, for instance, filling in ten job application forms gets you a tie, wouldn’t you want to fill in as many as you could? (that was, of course, a trap; NEVER get a tie without a matching pocket square!).

What if, some might ask, you just hastily, and rather sloppily, fill in the application forms so that you can buy those tie and pocket square sets?

I guarantee you that the chances of that happening are rather scarce as, subconsciously, you will know that you have not earned that reward and shan’t, thus, be able to enjoy it.

Another counter- argument might be that such a strategy could prove to be quite pricey. That can easily be tackled by matching your reward to the merits of your achievement:

• Minor Achievement- Up to £ 5 (tie & pocket square set)
• Mid Achievement- Up to £ 15 (a shirt)
• Major Achievement- Up to £ 30 (a good pair or cufflinks)
• Achieving a Goal- Unlimited as those are pretty hard to achieve (a suit, naturally)

Also, try to limit your rewards to four a month (one per week) so that your debit and credit cards don’t burst in flames of desperation.

To sum up, it is of vital importance to reward your own efforts as it:

• Helps you continue with what you are doing
• Makes you feel more useful
• Turns you into a more enthusiastic and positive person
• Gives you a very solid reason to buy stuff that makes you happy without feeling guilty for it

Once more, nothing fluffy; pure logic. Except the weather; the weather’s still fluffy and sunny.

Go on, reward yourself- go for a walk in the Sun; you know you want to.