Contest Announcement, For All Blog Readers: Best Ways to Break Inertia
Just hung up from talking to a man who’d hired me to speak to a large group of employees.
The purpose of the event, he told me, is to reach out and educate these people about their Deferred Compensation Benefit Plan.
The problem, he explained, is that members were only putting in the small minimum amount each pay period. They wanted to encourage participants to increase their contributions and understand what they’re investing in.
The real issue, he admits: “How do you break their inertia?”
Isn’t that the Big Question for all of us when it comes to money? (And a lot of other things, I suppose!)
How do we break our inertia?
Most people do it the way I did—by waiting for a crisis. There’s nothing like a catastrophe to kick us out of our stupor. For me, it was a whopping tax bill following my divorce.
Why didn’t I take action when I first found out my husband was grossly mismanaging my money? Why did I wait and put my whole family in jeopardy?
Truth be told, inertia, like ignorance, can be bliss. But the penalty for procrastination is not pretty.
So I ask you: How have you overcome inertia in your financial life…without waiting to be hit over the head with a sledgehammer? What advice would you give a roomful of foot-draggers?
In fact, let’s make this a contest. A prize goes to the winner with the best suggestion.
The prize: a bright red mouse pad that boldly declares: Scare Yourself Every Day.
Come to think of it, that just might be the best solution for fighting inertia!!
Barbara Stanny
The leading authority on women & money
barbara@barbarastanny.com
www.barbarastanny.com
Sign up for Barbara’s free newsletter at
http://barbarastanny.com/inner-circle-join.html
Twitter Barbara at: http://twitter.com/barbarastanny
Hi Barbara,
This is a great question. I was just listening to a Tony Robbins taped seminar last week and he notes that you can’t always motivate people with “the carrot.” Some people are motivated by “the stick.” Because you will have both in your audience, I’d recommend using both examples.
Maybe have them write down the best things that could happen if they change what they’re doing now AND the worst things that could happen if they don’t change.
I also like the technique I’ve seen you use in your seminars before where you share the results with one person there that you don’t know. I found that to be a safe environment to hear yourself say it out loud and to receive feedback.
Have a great presentation!
Laurie Lamoureux, Chief Box Opener
Out of the Box Unpacking & Organizing Service
Bellevue/Seattle, WA
I’ve found a deadline can be a powerful force against inertia, even if it’s self-imposed. Like, if I’d really like to clean up my house but never feel like doing it, I invite a friend over because I know from experience that will cause me to get it ship shape before my friend arrives. It’s sneaky but it works!
So that’s my experience, create a deadline and create accountability by involving another person. For financial goals you could agree with a friend that you’re both going to have your wills up to date by the end of November, and schedule going out for cocktails to celebrate. You can do that with lots of financial goals.
Very nice plan. Unfortunately for me my company froze or defined benefit plan last week and will no longer contribute to it. that being said they will now contribute 5% of our salary to a 401k type plan wheather we contribute or not.
I was able to move out of my own inertia and open up my own Roth IRA eventhough I am a full-time student by seeing those graphs that show you how much your money could grow in X years. I realized that if I don’t start right this instant then the longer I will have to wait to get the pot of money. I think giving people concrete, specific and visual examples of what they stand to gain is a good way to go.
Yeah Barbara, I seem to have a lot of that inertia going on. It just takes making your mind up to get down to bisiness!