Using Penalty Goals To Complete Sh#%

You’ll either love or hate the “Penalty Goals” concept, much like the headline above.

And it will either give you great results (at least for a while) or won’t work at all.

It all depends on how you are wired.

Given that I’m writing an article on the topic, you’ve probably guessed which camp I belong to. Penalty goals have done wonders for me. And some of my students. 

Today, I want to walk you through the concept and show you how I’ve used it on myself and my students with a clear goal:

So you can either try it or know for sure it’s not your thing.

Let’s dive into it.

How I’ve Used Penalty Goals To Get Stuff Done Fast… And How You Can Do The Same

It all started with my former accountability partner, Nate Dodson, from Microgreens Farmer. One time, we were discussing what big thing needed to be done in the coming week and came up with a way to make doing exactly what was planned far more likely:

Whoever didn’t get their big thing done owed the other guy $100.

Now, the actual amount isn’t crucial for this to work. In fact, the penalty goal doesn’t even have to be related to money. 

Two factors are crucial here:

First, the psychological aspect of not wanting to be seen as someone who doesn’t do what they promised. This is an age-old instinct instilled deep inside the human psyche.

Second, the more you dread the penalty, the more likely you are to do whatever it takes to avoid paying it. Don’t go too overboard, of course. But some discomfort is necessary for this to work.

As you may know, I’m the kind of person who needs extra outside accountability to act. So, such motivation and added incentives really did the trick for me. (And even then, I ended up owning Nate $100 three times. He never owed me.)

But you either may not need them because you are 100% self-accountable…

Or because the stress of having a penalty looming over you may affect both your mood and the end result of the activity you set out to do.

That’s why I said penalty goals will only work for certain people. If you see them working for you, putting that belief to the test should be pretty easy:

First, decide what penalty goal would work best for you. Feel free to experiment for a couple of weeks and try different things.

Second, find someone who will enforce the penalty on you and keep you accountable. I suggest doing this even if you’re a super self-disciplined person for one reason: 

Falling off the cracks and finding excuses that confirm you shouldn’t pay the penalty because of “objective” reasons is easier than you think. 

I speak from personal experience.

Yet, I know finding such a person is harder than it seems. Which is why I try to be one for my coaching students.

For example, when a student mentions a big plan to me, I always have them set a due date and ask:

“What will you do if this doesn’t get done?”

Then, if I gauge they are fine with penalty incentives, I’ll call them out on one of the group coaching calls and suggest one. Like owing someone else in the group $100 if the plan doesn’t become a reality by the set deadline.

Many people have later told me this helped them stay on course and get important things done.

So, I can say with certainty that the idea works, at least for some people. And it works in virtually any field because of the psychology behind it.

But whether it will work for you is a whole other matter.

How To Tell If Penalty Goals Will Work For You: What Examples And Discussions Show

Not many people use the term “Penalty Goals.” But the idea behind the name I gave the concept is widespread.

One big example is losing weight. I’ve heard of a website where people actually pledge money if they don’t meet their diet, calorie count, weight loss goals, etc. But I couldn’t find this website, no matter how much I searched. 

I also found an interesting cupcake penalty game someone played with their mom while both were trying to lose weight. 

The discussion on whether or not penalty incentives work and what they should be is big on Reddit too. Many people claim the key to success lies in the severity of the penalty…

But warn against being too harsh like I did too.

I’ve seen people on Instagram, Twitter, etc., swear by their variants of penalty goals…

And I’ve seen others claim they not only don’t work but have negative consequences.

This brings me back to where I started:

Whether penalty goals will work for you depends on how you are wired. And depending on that, you should either try what I suggested…

Or ignore this article completely.

1,000 examples won’t help you choose between the two options. Only you know what’s best for you.

Conclusion

You now have an extra idea you can easily apply to increase the likelihood of completing your most important tasks.

Here’s to quickly & frictionlessly finding out if it can actually work for you…

And getting the most out of it if it can.

I’m rooting for you.

-Jacques