Wrong Rewards

One of the things I’m going to focus on personally is working for the right rewards. And for me, it’s incredibly encouraging when my blog posts or articles generates discussions and new ideas. To me, that is making a difference in the thought process and growth of people around me and even those readers distant from me.

2021 represents a very interesting new step from me as I stepped out of my comfort zone even more to be more conscious about the most critical question facing millennials living in a world that the boomers have built: “Do I stand and watch the show saying ‘this is not my idea’, or do I go out there and create the future that I want to see?” I could play the game that the boomers created and continue perpetuating a culture I find myself in – it would be immensely rewarding in the traditional sense – there is proven sources of prestige, of some financial rewards, and pat on the back by those well-established within the system. But I could also start changing the culture, changing the game, and work for the reward of a better future for my generation when we are older, for a better world that I would want my kids to live in (if I ever have kids).

We need to start getting people to work for the right rewards. Often we care too much about just the outcome and we think that it doesn’t matter as long as we structure the sticks and carrots to nudge those people to the right behaviours. Over time, we might find diminishing marginal returns. And over time, we might be damaging the culture. Children who get paid reading loses the chance to learn to read for the pleasure and love of reading. Using monetary or other rewards for steps recorded in trackers encourage gaming of the system. Let’s stop using temporary fixes. Let’s try to create a culture that allows us to progress as a society, and not to encourage gaming of the system, or cause people to turn against one another – all for the wrong rewards.