Positive Reinforcement Might Be Doing More Harm Than Good
I don’t agree with everything that Gary Vaynerchuk puts out into the world, but this Instagram post he did really struck a deep chord:
“You’re addicted:
To people telling you you’re pretty.
To people telling you you’re talented.
To teachers telling you you’re a good student.
To opinions.
The reason so many struggle with negativity is because they overvalue positive reinforcement.”
-Gary Vaynerchuk
The problem is that when we give SO much weight to the positive reinforcement, we’re affected even more deeply when we get negative reinforcement or feedback.
I’m ALL for positive reinforcement and praise. But it’s like anything else: too much and it becomes unhealthy.We need to continue to be motivated by intrinsic praise because when no one is clapping for you, are you going to be able to keep going otherwise? Are you going to be satisfied with knowing that you did a good job, without someone else telling you?
Are there things out there that are worth doing even if you knew you would NEVER get an ounce of praise?
When we are trained to respond only to positive reinforcement too often, it can become addicting.
This episode is a quickie and diving into how we can continue to be motivated for our own success, even when no one is watching – and how you can stop feeding into this cycle we can get caught in.
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