Am I Being Too Hard On People With My Willpower Experiment

[George Rice]

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I agree. But then to rebut them I propose an experiment. I offer them money to entice them to do what they never do after merely saying they want to and will. And lo and behold they now do it! This has actually happened for moderate money. When it does, I claim that their arguments about themselves have been shown to be basically hogwash. Am I being too tough on them?

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If someone is burdening you with their goals and excuses, then you are not being too tough on them. Except maybe you may be taking this a little personal for some reason ("I tend to be very unforgiving").

If they haven't brought the subject up and you observed these things of your own accord, then it's none of your business. If you have strong opinions anyway, you need to ask yourself why?

FWIW, I decided 4 1/2 years ago that I was going to run a marathon. For me, I might as well have decided I was going to fly to the moon, as I don't think I had run more than 100 yards in my life (and collapsed exhausted when I did), and I spent much of my life around 300 lbs. I didn't tell anyone my plans, partially because I didn't want to go public and fail, and partially to see the suprised looks if I succeeded. Five months of training later, I did it.

Also, there are other issues involved than some realize. Don't be surprised if the guy who loses 100 pounds to win $10,000 from you has gained it all back 5 years later. I doubt I could run 1/2 mile today. Hmmm, maybe I'll go out and see what I can do, lol.