Offering Free Bonus Points
Studies show that if a person is offered a bonus reward or push, he or she is more likely to complete the goal as he has been provided with a further incentive and help to reach a stage where his reward is within his sights.
MORE IDEAS FROM THE ARTICLE
The Goal Gradient hypothesis states that we push harder or are motivated to exert more by the fact that the goal is almost within reach.
The knowledge that the desired outcome or reward is almost attained is a ‘pull factor’ in our effort.
Marketers use this to nudge us towards buying a certain product or service, providing us with a goal that is almost within our grasp.
Example: When enrolled in a buy ten get one free coffee program, the person who has just one coffee to complete ten, is motivated to buy it as the free coffee is now imminent.
This helps us manage our motivation, as it focuses our energy and motivation.
The downside is that we are focused on the goal in front of us and are now shortsighted or blinded with regards to other future goals which may be important.
A great way to manage your projects and goals is to have a detached mindset about them while trying to sort and prioritize them.
After the sorting, take the most important goals from the list and figure out ways to make them more immediate and attainable.
RELATED IDEAS
- "The grass is always greener on the other side" suggests that people spend much of their time longing for things they don't have.
- In Aesop's fable of "The Fox and the Grapes", the fox walked away from the grapes he desired because he could not reach it, concluding that the grapes were probably sour anyway. This tale teaches that failure can make future success appear less attractive.
In a study, people who see grass as greener on the other side predict higher happiness with future success. Participants that reacted like Aesop's fox would try to distance themselves from failure. It suggests that initial failure made people underestimate how good it would feel to succeed.
- GNW argues that consciousness arises from a specific type of information processing, known from the beginnings of AI, when specialized programs would access a small, shared repository of information.
- According to GNW, consciousness is when incoming sensory information is broadcast to multiple cognitive systems, which process these data to speak, store, or call up memory.
- The network of neurons that broadcast these messages is thought to be located in the frontal and parietal lobes.
- When the data is broadcast on this network, the subject becomes conscious.
- GNW proposes that computers of the future will be conscious.
Electronic communication is efficient, but it's detached. Sitting at a computer screen, the need for tact and a respectful tone disappears.
- Being on the receiving end of such impoliteness can create lingering stress and negative emotions. The recipient may find it harder to stay engaged at work. The stress associated with e-mail rudeness can spill over into family life and, like a chain reaction, can send stress signals to other people.
- A subtler form of aggression is failing to reply to a request, in effect giving others the "silent treatment." Not responding to an email leaves people hanging and struggling with uncertainty.