Tuesday, February 26, 2008

a little MORE motivation

i am a true believer of the reward system! i think that if you really want to do something, you are more likely to do it if you know there will be a reward. common sense, right?

we have instituted this philosophy many times in our family:
  • potty treats: anywhere from stickers to jelly beans, for our kids the sugary treats were always more successful!
  • marble jars for good behavior: once it's been filled the girls could pick a fun family outing.
  • staying dry every night for one week: nani got a trip to chuck e. cheese when she accomplished this one!
  • chore charts: they have their weekly chores and will get paid if they do any extra chores.
  • bedtime story: if they are ready for bed before bedtime they get a bedtime story.
  • cuddle time: if lala is ready for preschool before bridget picks her up we cuddle on the couch until she arrives! we've been cuddling a lot lately!

as you can see, most of our rewards are for the girls and not so much for mitch and myself. every once in awhile we do give each other a little motivation for working out. in fact, a few years ago i earned enough money, from workout rewards, to buy my triathlon bike, which cost a pretty penny!

well, i am back in the money making business of exercise!! i started the tickers exactly 1 week ago and i haven't been this good for a very long time! 16 miles so far! it's working!

but talking with mitch this weekend about exercising, he offered me a little MORE motivation, in the form of $$! i have very little monetary income as a stay at home mom, especially since my postum business ended for a lack of postum (sad face). so, money talks!

this is how it works: for every week that i exercise 4 days i can reward myself with $10, this was my idea. however, mitch took it one step further. mitch l.o.v.e.s to lift weights. he also l.o.v.e.s when i lift weights! so, he added the extra motivation for weightlifting. if i lift weights at least 2 days each week my reward goes up to $20!

yipee! i have an expensive hobby that i need money to support! i feel success coming on!

10 comments:

ashley said...

that is awesome! i want money for going running, usually i am just lucky to get out the door on my own for a little while. way to go on getting back into great shape.

Erika said...

That is great motivation! I wish we were in the position for that type of reward. Mine is like...if you work out...you feel good & get a shower when you get home :-) lol

Bridget said...

What are you going to get with the moulah? Are you saving for something? Using with your Postum money?

What a great idea! You should start a $ ticker on the side too! Then we can watch the dollars go up and up.

Malia said...

Very cool mahina! remember my penny jar? Well I was doing really well keeping track of it but then we went to california for christmas and it hasnt gotten a whole lot of attention since then. I think i'll start keeping track of it now. Happy erunning and weightlifting to you!

Katie Smith said...

Okay, a)I love your motivational ideas for the kids. I may have to steal some of those (hope you don't mind). b)what a sweet deal! I too am dying to know what the incentive money will be used for. Do tell.

Elizabeth Dimit said...

What a great idea! Double the money for a muscle class!

Melissa-Mc said...

Hey, throw in some pilates or yoga and make it $30

shauna said...

Wow, endorphines AND dollars! What a supportive husband.

I like incentives too. I was trying to use the blog as an incentive. 1 hour of cleaning=1hour of blogging. Sometimes it works.

Darilyn said...

That is one sweet deal Mahina!

Rachael said...

I love your creative ideas. Keep up the muscles girl. You'll have the big guns blazin before you know it and money to boot!