by Jonathan Robinson: The Integrity Contract Method.
What one trait would you say practically guarantees success in any field? Talent? Knowledge? In my opinion, the single most important trait for guaranteed success is the ability to be consistent in one’s efforts. From Thomas Edison to Mahatma Gandhi, the most successful people in any field are those who can stay motivated over a long period of time. Unfortunately, people have a hard time maintaining high levels of motivation and effort. For most people, the inability to consistently act on their plans is what ultimately defeats them. Yet, there is now a method that is so simple and effective for overcoming this problem that, if you use it, your life will never be the same.
A basic rule of psychology is that people act to avoid immediate pain and/or gain immediate pleasure. I realized that, in order to have people make consistent progress towards their goals, they would need some form of immediate pain to occur if they failed to take appropriate action. Based on this principle, here’s the essence of the technique: Write a contract with yourself that states all the precise actions you’re willing to commit to do during the following week. Then write a statement that says, “For each of the items on this contract I fail to do by one week from today, I agree to rip up $2.” The threat of ripping up $2 can be an incredibly powerful motivator. In fact, it can change your life.
I call this technique the I. C. A.N. method, which is an acronym for Integrity Contract And Nurturance method. The idea behind it is to increase the power of your word and nurture your dreams by consistently doing what’s most important to you. There are several reasons why this method is so effective. First, there is a clear proclamation of what you intend to do, and by when you intend to do it. Normally, people have a lot of lofty thoughts about what they could do to improve their life, but these thoughts soon slip away. With the I CAN method, you’ll have a visual reminder of what you’re committed to do. Second, with this technique, you’ll experience immediate pain if you fail to keep your word. Since your brain is always trying to avoid immediate pain, it will do its best to complete what’s on the contract.
What follows is a step-by-step account of how you can use the I CAN method.
- Sit in a quiet place and ask yourself, “What important things could I do this week to create a life of even more inner and outer riches?” Write down whatever ideas you get.
- For the two, three, or four best ideas you come up with from #1, create simple,measurable tasks you can do within the course of a single week. For example, the inner message to “treat my customers better” might lead to the action of giving them a sincere compliment when you interact with them. To increase your level of inner peace, you could put on your contract one or two stress reduction methods that you think would help you feel more relaxed.
- Write down on a single sheet of paper all the specific things you plan to do by the end of one week. Then, state that for each item you fail to complete by the end of the week, you will rip up $2. Sign and date your contract. Below is an example of how such a contract looks.
I, Jonathan, agree to do the following over the course of the next week:
- a) Call five potential clients about my new seminar.
- b) Wash my car, and put an ad in the paper to sell it.
- c) Ask a friend to read my latest article and get their feedback.
- d) Use the new method I learned to prioritize my day before I eat breakfast.
- e) Meditate at least 30 minutes each day.
For each of the above items I fail to complete by 5:00 p.m. next Thursday, I agree to rip up $2.
(date) (signature)________________________
- Put the contract in a place where you’ll see it daily. Bathroom mirrors are good. So are
car dashboards. If you have an appointment book, make sure you write down the exact time you plan to evaluate your contract. It’s important that you schedule this. If possible, make this appointment exactly one week from the writing of the contract.
- At the end of the week, evaluate how you did. If you didn’t complete any items on
your contract, no matter what your excuse, tear up the appropriate amount of money. It may take awhile to write contracts that work just right for you. Go through this process again for the upcoming week. Write a new contract that takes into account what worked for you in the previous week, and what did not. Feel free to write almost identical contracts week after week. After awhile, you’ll find you can write highly beneficial contracts in a matter of two or three minutes. If you find you always miss items on your contract, write easier contracts. On the other hand, if you find you always complete everything, put a couple of more difficult items on your list.
Think of how quickly you could turn your goals into a reality if you made progress on them each and every week. After awhile, the I CAN method becomes like a fun game you play with yourself. Rather than always putting off the dreams you have, it allows you to act on them right now. People who have the patience to slowly but surely make progress on their goals are the people who succeed in life.
From my experience of overseeing the I CAN process with thousands of people, I can say the single most effective way to ensure its success is to do it with a partner. When people try this process on their own, they frequently fail to rip up the appropriate amount of money. Yet, when you’re accountable to someone else, it’s a different story. Partners keep each other accountable and honest.
When I get together with my partner to go over the contract, he asks me, “How’d you do this week?” On a typical week I might say, “I missed one item, and I already ripped up the money.” Then I ask him, “How about you?” After he gives me his answer, we hand (or fax) a copy of our new contract to each other. When we complete this process by phone, it literally takes two minutes. In the last three years, we’ve both increased our incomes and quality of life rather dramatically as we’ve practiced exercising the power of our word. If you can manage to make it through the first month, you’ll likely become hooked because you’ll be so pleased by the results you’re getting. It’s amazing, but true—the fear of ripping of $2 can keep you motivated to do all the things that you know would make your life better. When you consistently do the specific behaviors that make your life work, the quality of your life becomes incredible!
Jonathan Robinson is a psychotherapist, best-selling author of 12 books, and a professional speaker from Northern California. Mr. Robinson has made numerous appearances on the Oprah show, as well as many other national TV talk shows, and articles about him have appeared in USA Today, Newsweek and The Los Angeles Times. For the past 30 years he has spoken to dozens of Fortune 500 companies including Google, Microsoft, Dell Computer, Coca-Cola, and Fed-Ex.
Jonathan has written several bestseller books including, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Awakening Your Spirituality;” “The Experience of God,” “The Little Book of Big Questions;” and “Communication Miracles for Couples.” His latest book is called, “More Love, Less Conflict.” Jonathan also co-hosts the podcast “Awareness Explorers” with author Brian Tom O’Connor. This podcast focuses on revealing the easiest and most powerful practices for directly awakening to one’s true nature.
Through TV, live lectures and radio, Mr. Robinson has reached over 100 million people around the world. He is known for providing his audiences with immediately useful information presented in a fun and entertaining manner.
