When it comes to bribery there are two options: stay strong and deal with the situation or use bribery for a quick fix.
My mom is a strong woman; so strong in fact that she never succumbed to bribing me as a child (even when I pushed her to the limit). The summer that I was three-years-old I would throw a tantrum every day for a popsicle. There was something about frozen sugar on a stick that guaranteed I would go into hysteria.
The first popsicle-caused-tantrum lasted for over an hour. While plenty of parents would have given in to make the agony stop, my mom would simply step over me and ignore me. (Looking back on it, I wouldn’t have blamed her if she stepped on me.)
I didn’t catch on to the fact that she wasn’t going to give in because I put her through this agony all summer long. Although the length of my tantrums slowly diminished until they were non-existent, it did take almost three months for the end to be in sight.
My mom deserves a round of applause for this one- way to not bribe me for a quick fix.
The boyfriend, Ryan, is another story though.
Once again we found ourselves having to say goodbye for yet another two-month span. I had been dreading the moment since I woke up for the day, which meant I was quiet all throughout lunch. History had shown that I become a blubbing mess whenever I try to have meaningful conversations on the day Ryan leaves.
As we walked to the car to say goodbye my eyes began to fill with tears (or what I refer to as “they began to leak.”) Before any tears could spill over though, Ryan looks at me and blurts out, “If you don’t cry I’ll buy you a puppy!”
I am 22 and my boyfriend tried to bribe me- with a puppy. The worst part is that I fell for it; 1) because there are few things I want more than a puppy (an endless supply of Skittles is one of them), and 2) because I was stunned that he had just used bribery on me.
I weighed the options in my head; I could either cry and let my emotions spill over, or I could turn off the leak and be a proud owner of a puppy. I picked the latter. (I’m still waiting for that puppy, Ryan.)
It is important for entrepreneurs, startup founders, boyfriends, etc. to take note of an important lesson learned here though: need a quick fix because your significant other is getting too dramatic for your taste? One word: bribery.
