I got asked an interesting question on my last post about putting candy in gin and while I have an answer, it raised other questions. I was asked if I ever use the drink as a reward for myself, and while I don't, I don't actually know what I do reward myself with. Do I reward myself at all?
I do things for myself that I like of course, but I am not sure if any of those things would be considered a reward, which I find interesting, as I spend a lot of time thinking about reward mechanisms in general on Hive. But in the real world, what do I reward myself with?
One of the problems that I have with "reward" is that I think it has to be earned by doing something useful. But more than this, it has to be seen as something useful to others, as if it is me doing something for myself that benefits me, isn't that reward already? I think my time on Hive has influenced this view, as in order to get some reward, it generally has to be attached to the community in some way.
It is not that I don't do anything for others at home, but the difference is that it is a responsibility in many cases and for example, looking after my family and doing things for them is just part and parcel of having a family. This activity isn't selfless, there is a return and the "happy wife, happy life" statement implies reward already. So, the reward of looking after family is a higher quality of life in general, as well as the reward of reciprocity at times.
The other aspect of this is that should a reward be only self-administered? While I am far from wealthy, I can afford things (like a gin and candy) without having to do anything for them. This means that there is less incentive to do something in order to get them. However, if it is something I won't buy for myself but could get if I perform tasks that are valuable for others, the incentive is there to act in my own best interest, which is to help those who need or value my service. Based on my service, they might feel that they should give something in return and at times, even a heartfelt "thank you" might be enough.
Perhaps it is old-fashioned to think that in order to be rewarded, we have to do something worth rewarding. After all, in the last few decades a lot of the consumer messaging has been to "reward yourself" which gives us license to consume, without having a reason pother than we can. On top of this, the idea of everyone wins a prize has been pushed heavily, meaning that merit is no longer necessary to get the dopamine kick of working and getting rewarded. Why do somethin when the same feeling can be accomplished through doing nothing?
I actually think this is quite pervasive in the world today, where people are comfortable receiving the "trappings" of work, without putting in the effort of working. My concept of the desire for workless wealth highlights this, but just the gamification model of society in general does too. As consumers, we are able to reward ourselves and get a similar feeling, but it is fundamentally different than being rewarded by others.
Some people think it is fantastic not have to earn their reward, but the problem is that when we can just "buy" the prize, we are don't have to do anything of note, anything of value to get the benefits. This changes the very nature of a society and community, disconnecting action from outcome and profoundly changing the nature of the relationships throughout the group. When people no longer have to do anything for other people to get rewarded, what happens to society in general?
I am not sure and will have to do some more thinking on it, but I assume that the glue of relationships that holds community together weakens. This could mean that the future tokenization of activity and reward based on service to individuals and community could strengthen community and service in general, as the highest rewarded will also be increasingly verified for why they are rewarded, as there will be a transparent paper trail of their activity that leads right up to the reward itself and, a paper trail of all that rewarded them. It will be interesting.
So, while I do enjoy getting rewarded, I am not sure if I reward myself with anything. I do splurge very occasionally on things, but generally they are larger items and years apart. Last year for instance, I bought myself a few hundred euros of Bitcoin for my birthday, though I don't consider that a reward, it was an investment that I justified as a present to myself.
But I am interested, how do you reward yourself and, how do you reward those around you like family and friends?
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]