Punishment, Discipline, & Rewards
When we speak of motivation, we use punishment, discipline, and rewards as common concepts. Each of these things can be a useful tool in motivation, but only when used the right way. And the right way depends on whether you employ these for the past or for the future.
Past Motivation
Leveraging punishment or reward to motivate oneself based on things that have happened in the past is a bad strategy. Punishment is rooted in the past. It acts as a form of justice for a negative action. Teachers and parents and bosses will use punishment as an effective way to motivate their subordinates to avoid the same negative action again. The negative punishment serves as a visceral reminder to not do the bad thing again–or else.
Punishment has its place in the ecosystem of motivation, but only from one person to another. I’m of the conviction that it’s not right to punish oneself. There are plenty of punishments coming our way from others, from bad luck, from our own careless actions. Punishment focuses on the past, and if we’re to move forward into a healthy motivation, punishing ourselves eventually leads to self-loathing, which is the ultimate lack of motivation.
Rewards for past actions should also be avoided. This is when you decide to reward yourself for something you did in the past. Maybe you came upon some money. Maybe you saved the day at work. Maybe you did something nice for a friend when they asked. Rewarding yourself for something you didn’t set as a goal short-circuits your motivational complex. In a way, it’s a form of indulgence and entitlement. We believe we should be rewarded for good things we’ve done, even when those things merely happened to us.
Future Motivation
Rewards are unhealthy motivators for past actions–but they’re very healthy motivators for future actions. Charles Duhigg explains in The Power of Habit that simple rewards like chocolates or social media can be effective when placed correctly in a habit-building cycle. And setting a big reward, like a vacation, or a dinner out, at the other end of a lofty goal can also be very effective and healthy.
Discipline is also effective when used for future motivation. Discipline is, in many ways, the positive counterpart to punishment. It’s also especially effective when used on oneself. We may discipline ourselves by creating a program to follow. A workout regimen or a posting schedule is a form of discipline that’s completely focused on the future. Self-discipline is essential for high achievement because anything worth achieving usually takes months or years of steadfast commitment before any rewards are attained.
So, if you’re looking to achieve a healthy motivation, look forward. Avoid punishing or rewarding yourself for past actions. Instead, motivate yourself to complete positive action ins the future with rewards and discipline.
Good luck out there!
P.S. One note on celebration. It’s a common problem in our culture that we don’t celebrate enough. Celebration is also focused on past achievements, but it is distinct from personal past rewards in that it includes a community. Celebration is a generous act, put on for the community that brings people together. Even though you may not have set a celebration as a future reward when you started working on your goal, it’s an important practice to employ after you achieve something substantial that you had been working towards. Go out to dinner, throw a party, and take a day off more–but make sure a community is involved.
