The Nurturing Well by: Jill Starbuck
My eight-year-old daughter created a swear jar for anyone who swears around her. She charges one dollar for every swear word used. Thankfully, after several months, the jar contains only one dollar, which is unfortunate for her hopes in making a buck or two. However, the swear jar is a great way for keeping people accountable and respectful in her presence.
Most people could use a swear jar to keep them accountable. Maybe swearing isn’t an issue for you, but we all have something that we could improve upon. Perhaps you are a smoker and wish to quit. Place a monetary amount of your choice in the jar each time you pick up a cigarette. The higher you make that amount, the more likely you will resist. Or maybe you are addicted to sugar. Each time you eat a cookie or a piece of candy, place money into the jar. Perhaps you want to become more consistent with exercise, but come up with too many excuses. Each time you make up an excuse and skip a workout, head to the swear jar. The list can go on and on regarding various aspects of our lives that we’d like to change.
Swear jars are great for the following reasons:
1. Accountability. By placing a monetary amount in the jar, you pay a price for something that you’d like to change. The more you have to pay out, the more likely you will begin to rethink your decision.
2. Visibility. By using a swear jar, you can visually see your progress or lack thereof. If your jar is full in no time, you can see that you need to make major improvements. Sometimes we don’t realize how some of our vices can get out of hand.
3. Challenge. Our vices are the hardest things to overcome or we would have obviously given them up a long time ago. The swear jar challenges our ability to overcome a vice. If we don’t present this challenge, it’s easy to keep going the way we always have.
Depending on your particular vice, it may take time and maybe a significant amount of money to break a bad habit. If you do accumulate a significant amount of money, but you succeed in overcoming your vice, you should use that money for some sort of celebration. In the end, the swear jar will be worth your time.
Jill Starbuck has 20 years of experience as a business writer, editor, and market research analyst. She is a certified health coach through the Integrative Institute of Nutrition and a certified running coach through the Road Runners Club of America. She is also the co-owner of a running business. She can be reached at jillstarbuck@hotmail.com.
