Читать книгу Money Mammoth - Ted Klontz - Страница 43

Money is a powerful reinforcer. In psychological terms, a reinforcer is anything that increases the likelihood that a specific behavior will occur. For example, when you promise a child a cookie if he or she eats all the vegetables on the plate, it will likely increase the chances that the child will eat all of the vegetables. As such, the cookie is a reinforcer since it increases the vegetable-eating behavior. In many ways, money is like this cookie.

For most people, there are days when we are just not looking forward to going to work. Perhaps it's cold outside and your bed is so comfy and warm. Perhaps you're tired, you've got a hangover, or you would rather just go hiking. So what makes you push through your resistance and go to work even though it would feel so much better to play hooky? The answer lies in the powerful reinforcing nature of money.

When you think about it, money is incredible! You can trade it for food, shelter, and warmth. You can use it to adorn yourself in beautiful attire and to display your relative status to attract and secure a mate. You can use it to provide safety for you and your family. You can use it in the service of your most important values. For many people across the world and throughout history, having money was often a matter of life or death. So we want money. We need money. And for most of us, the more money the better.