Is it just me, or do you see all the ads for betting, too? Holy smokes! They’re everywhere. They are on billboards on major highways, they are at train stations, and they are absolutely on T.V. While we were watching baseball last night, I took note of one particular offer and immediately thought of you and me! 

The offer was if we sign up and bet $5 of our own money, we will be instantly credited with $200 of their money. We don’t get the $200 in cash, it’s a credit to bet some more. We both see what they are trying to do, right? Another betting platform offers $1,000 in free bets if you lose your first bet! That sounds incredibly enticing but these betting platforms know EXACTLY what they are doing. They know we are inherently risk averse, so they made it “risk-free,” so that we will be willing to sign up and start betting. They are exploiting human psychology. We begin by playing with “house money,” until we aren’t, and by then we are hooked. Brilliant, I guess.

Why did this make me think of you and me? I know how hard it is to get people to take risks—even really small ones. Unfortunately, I can’t entice my clients to take risks by luring them with free money. But the betting industry just spelled out something for you and me that we need to pay attention to for our own good: Risk is a mind-game. You have all the tools available to help you win this game. But if you leave the mind in control, it’s never going to one day say, “I love risk!” And if you’ve decided to take some smart and intentional risks, PLEASE don’t do it with a betting app!

Let’s GO! WE GOT THIS!
BETH
P.S. This morning at 9 am is my WILM&A Energy event. If you have never experienced energy work or could use a little distressing right now, please join us. The whole event is experiential and FREE—it will be time well spent, I promise. Please register here: https://www.wilmaa.org/wilma-events/energy-work-techniques-to-manage-stress