#1859 Social Loafing

In our last couple +1s (here and here), we talked about baseline resetting as we made sure we upgraded the resolution of our lives.

Note: I would have described the latest TV models more accurately, but I haven’t owned a TV in over 15 years—which, for the record, is one of the ways I keep my energy resolution so high. 📺 😆🤓

Now…

Today, we’re going to talk about that dream I had.

Let’s get to work.

So…

I vaguely remember playing some super weird quidditch-like game. (The kids and wifey and I just watched the first two Harry Potters!)

I might have scored some pretty sweet goals. We won. Haha.

Then…

I seem to remember walking back to whatever headquarters-like camp we were staying at and, apparently, we needed to make sure we weren’t seen by some bad guys or something so one of the guys in our group was picking up some trash we had left behind that might have given up our location.

Now that I think about it, I think he was kinda like Hagrid. (Love that guy. 😆)

So…

I followed this awesome guy’s lead and I started making sure I picked up the trash stuff as well.

But no one else was.

So..

Then I (at least the dream version of me!) decided to give a little talk on the subject.

Laughing. At myself. That I have dreams like this. 😂 🤓

Here’s what I talked about…

Scientists can bring people into a lab and ask them to pull a rope as hard as they can as they measure how hard they pulled it.

Then they put them in a group and ask them to all pull again.

And…

Guess what happens?

On average, they don’t pull as hard when they’re with other people as they did when they were by themselves.

Eek.

You know what scientists call that?

They call it “social loafing.”

Unfortunately, people tend to be a bit lazy when their individual effort is masked within a collective effort.

Eek.

That’s the bad news.

The good news?

There’s an antidote to social loafing.

You know what it is?

If the group of people see ONE person who is CLEARLY going ALL OUT, then the other people will work harder.

I got tears in my eyes typing that.

Today’s +1…

GO BE THAT ONE PERSON.

Give us all you’ve got.

Today.