We live in a society that demands instant results. We often want the reward before we’ve even paid for it!
Shane Parrish shared a similar thought in his weekly blog:
“The universe does not offer financing. This is hard to accept because modern life trains us to expect the opposite. We are addicted to ‘Buy Now, Pay Later.’ You live in the house before you pay off the mortgage. You get the degree before you pay off the loan. You eat the meal before you ask for the check. We are conditioned to enjoy the benefit today and pay the cost tomorrow.
“Achievement reverses the transaction. It requires full payment in advance (and regular payments forever). If you want a fit body, a calm mind, a healthy relationship, or financial independence, the cost is non-negotiable. You must do the work before you get the result. This is why most people quit. They pay a little, see nothing, and stop. They never make it far enough to see the first return arrive.”
This is why people are so hard to motivate. They have been conditioned to get the reward first. Hard work has become a thing of the past.
I see this daily as a wrestling coach. I found I couldn’t focus so much on hard work because they didn’t see a benefit. Instead, I focus on the things they are craving. Kids want to feel like they belong to something bigger than themselves, they need connection, they need to know someone cares. Most of all, they need to see someone model this behavior. Once they feel seen, heard and respected, I have their attention. With a couple of good team leaders, they see the benefits and strive to improve. In this way, hard work is a result of the system, not a demand.
Results come slow, but it’s the team bonding that keeps them coming back. Once they get a taste of how their effort pays off, then that becomes the motivation. The return is that I have changed the lives of these young adults to be process-driven instead of results-driven. They can apply this lesson to many situations throughout their life to help them become upstanding citizens and pillars of the community. Now that’s a return worth investing in!