Carrot or stick?

For the carrot to work, we need to have the trust that we will get the carrot if we do the deed. Without that, it won't be a motivating force, no matter what carrot is dangled in front of us.

On the other hand, the avoidance of stick works more effectively if we have never been at the receiving end of the stick. The idea of the boogeyman is more threatening than the boogeyman itself.

Habits that lead to a reward happen more effortlessly than the ones that are done in order to avoid a punishment (which could be external or an internal mechanism like guilt and regret). They tend to stick more too.

It might be worth trying to build the trust through repetition and let our habits be driven by positive reinforcement rather than simply on avoiding the stick.