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You and your family get together and decide to work towards achieving a goal of saving energy.<\/p>\nYou and your family get together and decide to work towards achieving a goal of saving energy.<\/p>\n
…But you have that one person who always has to be the odd man ought.<\/p>\n
They don\u2019t like to cooperate. They like to do things their own way.<\/p>\n
And you know it\u2019s coming.<\/p>\n
…But what can you do about it?<\/p>\n
Well, you can\u2019t control that person. But you can set up rewards and consequences to try to influence their behavior.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what you can do:<\/p>\n
1. Make the Reward Hard for Them To Resist<\/strong><\/p>\n No one likes to miss out on something they love. Everyone has their soft spot.<\/p>\n You know what your stubborn family member can\u2019t do without.<\/p>\n So, set up your energy savings plan such that when your family saves energy, you all share in\u00a0 a reward your obstinate family member really likes.<\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s as simple as going out for ice cream.<\/p>\n Let them stay home while you go out. Come back with the ice cream in hand.<\/p>\n Be sure to torture them a little in a kind way with whatever it is that you do. Go to every length to make it look really good.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a great way to motivate people to change their behavior.<\/p>\n 2. Empathize With What They Might Feel<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes. It\u2019s hard to feel compassion and kindness for someone who doesn\u2019t want to go along with the main plan in your home.<\/p>\n But, understand that it could be because of something much deeper than they simply like to make things difficult.<\/p>\n Maybe you have a young child or teen who\u2019s under a lot of stress and social pressure at school.<\/p>\n Perhaps they\u2019re struggling and behind academically.<\/p>\n Whenever things aren\u2019t going the way someone would like in life, it\u2019s easy to focus on control where it can be gained.<\/p>\n So have a conversation with them. Just start with,\u201dI know you\u2019re having a hard time with our family energy savings plan. What\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n See what they say. They may blurt out stresses and concerns you didn\u2019t know they had.<\/p>\n And when those issues get dealt with, you may have a much more cooperative family member.<\/p>\n