This is a new collection. I'm going to shoot for a small post a day.
The bad bet (as in, a really bad idea) is one I made on Saturday: Sure, I can lose 12.5 pounds by the end of August. Here's a $200 check, made out to the catholic church of Arlington for social activism. You know, like preventing women from controlling their bodies and making sure marriage is for straights. That sort of crap.
The daily post will be on progress.
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Oh man that makes my skin crawl. Maybe I should do the same.
ReplyDeleteI had an idea like this a while back- an app that you set up to donate to a terrible organization as motivation for whatever you want to do. So dangerous! I couldn't bring myself to take it any further.
ReplyDeleteWriting the check was physically difficult. My hand cramped not once, not twice, but three times. I took a picture, so I have an easy memory aide. The check is with a trusted economist, because he'll actually cash it if I fail.
ReplyDeleteSteve Segedy And you could take 10% of all proceeds, too. Your incentive structure would be for people to fail. ouch.
ReplyDeleteThat's just dipped in evil.
ReplyDeleteOh: I've made my weight public to friends on fitbit, if you want to follow along that way just friend me.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there's a way to do that such that your incentive is for people to succeed. Figure that out, and then the business is a positive force instead.
ReplyDeleteI'm in this as well. Same time period, and 10 lbs to loose or $200 goes to the NRA. Also I'm pretty sure there is already an app for this: http://www.stickk.com/ but I preferred a more old fashioned and tangible solution.
ReplyDeleteThe more physical and embedded, the more it hurts. Credit Cards don't feel as painful as cash. Writing a check may be even worse, as you have to physically write down your name and sacred honor.
ReplyDeleteTotes nice to know that your weight loss is worth more than women's freedom.
ReplyDeleteWhoosh... storm trooper misses the point.
ReplyDeleteNo point missed here. You may have faith in your ability to accomplish this goal, but if you don't, you are not punishing yourself for failure (as stupid as punishment for failure is in the first place), you're punishing and putting at risk other people, who (in William's case) are less privileged than you, and in either case, contributing to problematic causes.
ReplyDeleteThis is actually really upsetting and disturbing to me, honestly.
Brie Sheldon That's the thing: I don't have faith. If I did, I wouldn't need the mechanism. I wouldn't need the incentive. I have fantastic empirical evidence that I suck at doing this thing that I need to do.
ReplyDeleteThat is: I suck at losing weight. I have wanted to drop about 30 pounds for five years or more. I keep getting a few pounds, then rebounding. I'd like to weigh less, so that I don't get diabetes and die. This is not an idle thought, and I have good (and personal) reasons for believing this will happen to me.
And I think viewing it as punishing myself isn't quite right; it provides an incentive of something terrible that will happen if I fail. That is, my failure is now tied to the causes in which I believe most.
And, sure, the catholic church harms women more than it does me. Of course it does. I am at a complete and utter loss to think of one that harms straight white cis gendered men more than anyone else that still violates my ideals. If you can think of one, please do. If it annoys me more than Rome, it'll be the next anti charity.
Lastly, the check is with a trusted economist. There's nothing I can do to stop it from being cashed, except to lose the weight.
Jason Morningstar , Steve Segedy , Dianne Harris
ReplyDeleteIt looks like stikk has a couple different commitment contracts. You can either have it go to a charity -- they list a couple dozen, including doctors without borders, the red cross, and project smile -- or to an anti-charity -- they again list a couple dozen, including Americans United for Life and NARAL, the House Dems committee and the House Republican committee.
It looks like you don't get to choose the charity, but you can choose the anticharity. Huh.
My point here is that what you are doing - putting others' wellbeing in the hands of your success or failure of a self-improvement effort - is awful. You are literally saying "If I don't succeed, I'm going to contribute to causes that endanger and harm other people, particularly those less privileged than me, to demonstrate to myself that I have to try harder." It's awful. I'm not saying you need to find a character that violates your ideals more, I'm saying that this conflict is flawed because it trivializes the wellbeing of other people. You can do all you want to yourself for this purpose, but it's terrible to use other people like this.
ReplyDeleteI understand your point. I have read your post. I have thought about it. I disagree, strongly and firmly.
ReplyDeleteI'll happily go into why, if you are open to dialogue. I do not sense that you are, though I could well be mistaken. Have been before.
If you disagree with my assertion that funding organizations who bring risk and harm to other people just to fuel your own self improvement is harmful and bad, I honestly don't see how any dialogue would help, because it's fundamentally in violation of any kindness or allyship I could imagine. I'm absolutely baffled as to how you could think that's right and just.
ReplyDeleteI'll leave you be, but honestly, take a look at your choices and really consider what the hell you're doing.
I'm with Brie on this one. You want to make a bet with yourself, just burn a stack of twenties if you fail. Don't self-improve on my back.
ReplyDeleteJoe Beason As I said to Brie, if you can name an organization as (or even comparable) antithetical to my beliefs that somehow harms privileged white men rather than anyone else, let me know.
ReplyDeleteWell, and that won't get me on a terrorist watch list.
The fact that you have trouble thinking of one is reason enough not to do this to other people.
ReplyDeleteJoe Beason Again, I am open to other ways to blackmail myself into losing weight.
ReplyDeleteGuys: The bet is made. I don't have the check. I made it with this organization because it is one I feel strongly about. And because nothing else was working, and I don't want to die.
Hey William,
ReplyDeleteOne thing that has worked really well for us has been keto, which produces some really big results fast, just as an idea. And while we appreciate that this is how seriously you're taking it.... We just worry.
Be careful.
Angela Julie Dobbs Thanks. If I get off track, I'll consider more extreme options like ketosis. Or donating blood. I'm absolutely going to cut my hair during this experiment.
ReplyDelete