Word: goale
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...various reasons, disbursements to charities are made in lump sums at the end of the year.) Karlan knows there are cheaters among the site's 50,000 users, and Sisson admits that she is one of them. She says she lied in 2008 about achieving her goal of losing 25 lb. in three months so she wouldn't have to cough up the $200 she had pledged to an anti-charity. Because there's such an easy out, Karlan encourages people to assign an independent referee such as a friend or co-worker to monitor their progress. Next year...
...Sisson isn't the only person who feels this way. According to a 2008 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, dieters who had a financial incentive to lose weight were nearly five times as likely to meet their goal when compared with dieters who had no potential for a financial reward...
That makes it tough for Sisson to cheat, which she says is a "good thing." Last year, she signed up for stickK.com, a site founded by Yale economics professor Dean Karlan, whose research has shown that signing commitment contracts and publicly announcing a goal helps people stick to it. (The extra K in stickK is shorthand in legal writing for "contract.") Users are not required to wager any money when they sign up, but the serious ones do. Some 30% fork over their credit card information upfront and specify how much money should be automatically charged if they fail...
Telling your friends about your goal and staking some money on your success is a powerful combination. Says Karlan: "It increases the price of vice and lowers the price of virtue. We think of it as Facebook with a purpose...
Instead, reward yourself for sticking to your limits and focus on the benefits of changing. For instance, if your goal is to drink less or lose weight, treat yourself to something you want - a new book or DVD, say - each time you successfully resist a tempting dessert or achieve a goal, like a month of abstinence. Success tends to beget greater success. If you do slip back into old patterns, avoid recriminations. "Don't say, 'I can't do it,' " says Marlatt. "People make mistakes. If you keep working at it, you will get better over time. That's what...