Blog · 4 min read
Why money on the line helps you show up
Loss aversion, commitment devices, and why a fund you have already put down feels different from a goal you only thought about.
Most habit plans fail at the same moment: the day the plan asks for effort and nothing bad happens if you skip. Motivation is highest when you make the plan and lowest when you have to carry it out. A commitment device is anything you set up in advance to close that gap.
Losses weigh more than gains
Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky described loss aversion in their 1979 work on prospect theory: for most people, losing something feels worse than gaining the same thing feels good. You do not need the maths to recognise it. Giving up fifty rupees stings more than finding fifty rupees pleases.
LockIn leans on that. You put a fund down first. The fund is already yours in your head, so each day the question is not "do I want a reward?" but "do I let a slice of my own money stay locked?" That is a different, more concrete question than "should I exercise today?".
Why it has to be small and clear
- Small enough that you are willing to commit it. The minimum on LockIn is ₹99.
- Tied to something you can verify yourself in seconds: a check-in, not a vague goal.
- Earned back gradually, so every single day has a visible consequence.
What it does not do
A fund will not create a habit you do not want. It works when you already want the outcome and your problem is follow-through. If you are picking a habit because someone else thinks you should, start with the next post in this series: choosing a habit you will actually keep.
LockIn is early. We would rather tell you honestly what a tool does than oversell it: it is a nudge, built on one well-understood piece of behavioural science, not a guarantee.