Maintaining reward systems or positive reinforcement is an important part of building life-long habits. As human animals, we generally like to repeatedly do the things that we have been rewarded for. The basis of positive reinforcement or habit-changing is that when someone does something and is immediately positively reinforced, they will tend to do the same thing again in a similar situation. You will note the word immediate. The person who plans to train and diet all year and then reward themselves with a summer vacation, has less chance of success than someone who gives themselves small, but immediate rewards for training and dieting, throughout the year.
The first big mistake that people make with the reward system is delayed rewards. Trying to get in shape for a vacation or the forthcoming summer season when it is still several months away might be a good reason to train, but it fails to motivate as a strong reward. To grudgingly drag oneself down to an unfriendly gym or pedal on an exercise bike in the corner of one's basement is just plain punishment. I recall my stepfather recovering from a heart attack by peddling on an exercise bike. He lasted about two and half weeks before resuming his usual routine of television-watching, chain-smoking and beer-guzzling after work. His second heart-attack followed a few months later, at age 46. The problem was that there was no reward linked with the daily activity. Unfortunately, there was also a hell of a punishment waiting for him as a result of his slipping back into old habits.
Frank, who is a retiree, used a more successful method of behavior modification, After failing several times at exercising, Frank put exercise into his own established routine. This original routine was: coming home, grabbing a beer and sitting in front of the television. What Frank did was come home, put on his sneakers, walked around the outside of his house once (the behavior) and then have a beer (reward). After a few days, he was walking around his house several times before sitting down to a beer. Gradually, Frank set goals of greater distances before accepting his reward. He must have really wanted that beer as he was soon jogging a quarter mile every day.
I cannot stress enough the importance of immediate rewards during a habit- changing program. The shorter the time span between the activity and the reward, the stronger the habit-forming bond. It is even better if you can incorporate the reward into the activity. For instance, many of my own workouts involve going to a good gym, talking to interesting people, listening to good music and sometimes, eating at a restaurant with friends after the workout. For me, this is a great reward for working out and I associate my experience at the gym with good times and good folk. However, suppose that I was in total pain throughout my workout, the people in the gym were all rude and unwashed, my locker was broken into and the restaurant food that I had later made me ill. In this case, my whole gym experience would relate to nothing but misery and chances are I wouldn't be eager to do it again anytime soon. When you start training for fun rather than just health, it becomes much easier.
The second big mistake that people make with the reward system is giving large rewards for small efforts. This is typical of people who believe that a couple of hours of playing sports is a great excuse to guzzle a case of beer. Another example is dieters who think that eating salad all week entitles them to eat a whole chocolate cake or go on a shopping spree that they can't really afford. Or the guy who makes a big production out of eating a few carrot sticks for supper and then heads out to the bar to knock back a few pitchers of beer because he "earned it".
The problem with large rewards for small efforts is that over time you will need increasingly larger rewards to get the same result. Some dog trainers have this problem when they only use food as a reward. The dog will eventually only respond when it is hungry. It's also like bribing a spoiled child to do anything. The rewards have to get larger and larger to be effective.
The solution to this problem is to give consistent, small rewards for regular efforts. So, in the case of exercising, the trainee should follow up the exercise session with small rewards like watching a favorite show, telephoning a friend or having a drink of juice. After a workout at a gym, one can schedule a walk through the mall or bookstore, a stop off at a coffee shop or whatever is routine and fun. One does not have to break the bank as part of a reward system.
The same goes for following an eating plan. By arranging the food to taste good or to take place in a good-time environment, you develop a mental link between eating healthy and enjoyment. For instance, there is probably not much fun to be had sitting home alone and eating a pre-frozen, low-calorie meal. However, if you eat that same meal at a park, during a good television movie or in good company, the meal becomes a pleasant experience. Personally, I would rather eat a hot dog in a park with friends than indulge in a gourmet meal at a high-class restaurant with company that I do not enjoy.
This method of small, consistent rewards can be applied to any regular task that you find challenging. It helped me immensely with my studies at university. As a reward for studying 15 extra minutes, twice a day, while traveling on the bus, I would get to read fiction for a designated period of time after each study session. Within a couple of months, I raised my Biology marks from a D to a B average.
Take the time to plan out your own small reward system to support your training program. A little bit of planning done now will pay off with big dividends later.
Learn more with the download: Stomach Flattening
Thanks To : Civil Engineer Concrete Structures
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น