Nowhere close to achieving your goals for the year? Try temptation bundling
It is almost the end of 2016, and if you’re feeling guilty that you haven’t met the goals you had hoped to achieve as part of your New Year resolutions, it might be a good idea to try a concept called “temptation bundling”.
This is a self-motivational technique to help combine what you should be doing (which could be an uninteresting or boring activity) with something that you would rather be doing.
Dr Era Dutta, psychiatrist, SL Raheja Hospital, Fortis Associate, Mahim, explains, “Now, think of it literally. Temptation is defined as something you want to have or do, even though you know you shouldn’t. Bundling literally translates to grouping together. You combine an activity that is your guilty pleasure with an activity that you should be doing.”
How it works
This principle is based on behavioural psychology, which largely talks about how we learn behaviours through associations and factors such as punishments and rewards. If we have learnt a particular behaviour that is not desirable, then we can also unlearn it. Similarly, any undesirable behaviour can be altered by changing the factors associated with it.
Benefits of temptation bundling
* Helps raise willpower as well as decision-making skills
* Helps develop a healthier lifestyle and be more productive
* Helps learn new skills
* Helps get over feelings of guilt
* Helps one overcome procrastination
* Makes a person more disciplined as it reinforces good behaviour over time
* Leads to a more positive outlook in life.
