Bet your mates to motivate
1. Why this works
Money influences your behaviour
You know this, because you buy most things on special, drive to places that have cheap things and dress up nicely for expensive restaurants.
Second thing is, we’re risk averse. Potential losses are more effective at getting us into action than goals. It’s proved in behavioural science – Daniel Kahneman won a Nobel Prize for it, and imaging in neuroscience over the past twenty years validates it.
So to influence your behaviour, make a promise (eg. exercise/make sales calls) then risk losing money if you don’t keep your word.
Your brain is biased
… in favour of NOW. Any benefit in the present (lying on the couch) beats a benefit in the future (getting fit through exercise). And you’re only ever in the NOW. What we do with staking is bring a COST into the present.
This changes everything, because when you risk losing something, you activate the survival circuitry in your brain. That’s the part of the brain your action centres listen to most openly.
That sinking feeling in your stomach when you realise something is going to cost you money? That’s the same force we’re using here to get you exercising. Or making sales calls.
The hard bit is starting, and staking gets you started.
2. How well does it work?
People do what they promise 96% of the time if they put a decent sum at stake. Yes. 96%. [Small sample size, but we will update as numbers grow.]
3. The basics
It’s a weekly cycle, and you stop whenever you want. Promise a weekly action (e.g. exercise three times a week or make 20 sales calls) then stake an amount of money.
If you do what you promise, you change your behaviour and it costs you nothing. If you miss your promise, you forfeit the weekly stake to your nominated charity.
4. Doing it with friends
Once you’re all in, everyone downloads the free Stake Something app from the App Store/Google Play.
Then, you simply enter your promise (see screens below). Everyone can make the same promise or you can agree to have individual ones. Up to you. Ideally, everyone chooses the same starting day.
You put money at stake (again, can be the same amount, can be individual), and you each choose a charity, or 2 Rich Guys if you want a stronger incentive. AFTER you’ve put your card details in, the Buddy screen comes up. Put the emails and names of all the people you’re playing with – then everyone will get an email with everyone else’s results.
People can join in later – it’s best if they have the same check-in day as you do. If you’re all checking in on a Sunday, the new player would need to start their stake on a Monday…
5. Putting your stake in the app
Choose your verb! If it’s something novel, choose ‘Custom’ at the bottom.
Say what you’re promising, and how often. Everything is on a weekly cycle…
How much you’ll stake (remember to set your currency). And choose a charity or 2 Rich Guys.
That’s it! The Home Screen will show when you need to report. If you set your stake to start tomorrow or later, it won’t show on the Home Screen until then…
6. I’m a health professional. Get me out of here.
If you’re a coach or health professional and want to get accredited, go here for the training.