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When I tell people I run marathons, they assume I love to suffer.

I see this narrative everywhere:

“Working towards your goals is hard. So you need to be disciplined to achieve your goals.”

But I don’t think that’s true…

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Reward vs punishment

Pop quiz.

Do you think I run further when I:

• Pretend I’m running away from something (monsters)?

• Pretend I’m running toward something (my partner bc we’re long distance rn)?

The reality is,

I run a lot further when I’m motivated by reward, not punishment.

When running away, I’d stop a lot earlier because I’d think:

“I’m too tired. Let the monsters take me.”

But if I’m running toward something I really care about,

I’ll keep going no matter what

(even if I have to stop and walk).

Introducing the reward jar

I tested this in other areas of my life.

I hate doing boring finances and admin work.

Everything felt overwhelming because I didn’t know where to start.

But I turned it into something rewarding:

I get to make cute graphs and see how much money I was making.

That curiosity and excitement led me to figure out how to get started,

Even if it was hard.

But it felt less hard and more like I was earning a reward with my efforts.

You can do something similar:

1. Get a jar and write nice notes to yourself - or ask a friend to

2. Every time you do something you don’t really want to do, reward yourself with a note from the jar

3. Optional: make it more visual by checking the habit off your calendar every day

Try it out and let me know if it works for you 👀 

Til next Monday,

Jennifer

P.S. if you enjoy ADHD tips like these, check out this newsletter for ADHD working professionals.