A Habit Contract in ActionBryan Harris, an entrepreneur from Nashville, Tennessee, was the first person I saw put this strategy into action.Shortly after the birth of his son, Harris realized he wanted to shed a few pounds.He wrote up a habit contract between himself, his wife, and his personal trainer.The first version read, "Bryan's #1 objective for Q1 of 2017 is to start eating correctly again so he feels better, looks better, and is able to hit his longterm goal of 200 pounds at 10% body fat."Below that statement, Harris laid out a road map for achieving his ideal outcome: Phase #1: Get back to a strict "slow-carb" diet in Q1.Phase #2: Start a strict macronutrient tracking program in Q2.Phase #3: Refine and maintain the details of his diet and workout program in Q3.Finally, he wrote out each of the daily habits that would get him to his goal.For example, "Write down all food that he consumes each day and weigh himself each day."And then he listed the punishment if he failed: "If Bryan doesn't do these two items then the following consequence will be enforced: He will have to dress up each workday and each Sunday morning for the rest of the quarter.Dress up is defined as not wearing jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, or shorts.He will also give Joey (his trainer) $200 to use as he sees fit if he misses one day of logging food."At the bottom of the page, Harris, his wife, and his trainer all signed the contract.My initial reaction was that a contract like this seemed overly formal and unnecessary, especially the signatures.But Harris convinced me that signing the contract was an indication of seriousness."Anytime I skip this part," he said, "I start slacking almost immediately."
The first version read, "Bryan's #1 objective for Q1 of 2017 is to start eating correctly again so he feels better, looks better, and is able to hit his longterm goal of 200 pounds at 10% body fat."
Ex: The first version read, "Bryan's #1 objective for Q1 of 2017 is to start eating correctly again so he feels better, looks better, and is able to hi...
Ex: The first version read, "Bryan's #1 objective for Q1 of 2017 is to start eating correctly again so he feels better, looks better, and is able to hi...
And then he listed the punishment if he failed: "If Bryan doesn't do these two items then the following consequence will be enforced: He will have to dress up each workday and each Sunday morning for the rest of the quarter.
Ex: And then he listed the punishment if he failed: "If Bryan doesn't do these two items then the following consequence will be enforced: He will have...
Ex: And then he listed the punishment if he failed: "If Bryan doesn't do these two items then the following consequence will be enforced: He will have...