This one is for the writers but also all of you. Because, let's face it. We all* (*I know, I know, one of you is going to say NOT I and that's fine so consider this a caveat) crave validation from external sources. Whether it's a “good job!” from a coworker or a full request from an agent or even passing your board certification at work, we all thrive on different levels of positive reinforcement.

In Psychology, we talk about two kinds of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is the kind you get from doing the thing itself. It's the motivation that responds to the “good job, self!” that comes of crafting a really tough scene or writing “The End.” It's the motivation that keeps you going when no one else believes. Then, there's external validation. The prizes. The accolades. The positive reader reviews. Most of us need a combination of both kinds to keep doing something hard; some of us only need intrinsic motivation and, hey, that's great! Doing a thing for the sake of doing it is why I keep crocheting hats I never finish--and I have a blast.

The problem is that we're basically all rats. We are conditioned by our surroundings, just like animals in a Skinner Box. Press the lever and you get food? Well, damn, that's going to make you want to press it again! Only nowadays, for a lot of us, it isn't food. It's dopamine. That's the chemical that makes your brain go “wheee!” The reward chemical you get from sex, drugs, and rock ‘n' roll. Or from Instagram likes. Or from a fancy paycheck. Or from seeing your book in bookstores. Whether our basic needs are met or not, we're all programmed to want the dopamine hits.

So what's the big deal? Well the problem is that if you let it, that rat or pigeon will press the lever into the ground until they perish. The problem is, when you're only extrinsically motivated, you do things like “write" books entirely generated by ChatGPT--because you don't actually enjoy the process, you just want the results. You cut corners. You feel sad after accomplishments because the dopamine hit wasn't long or strong enough.

Or, eventually, you stop caring at all, and you stop doing the thing you loved in the first place.

I wish I had a pithy conclusion with some easy solutions, but I don't. Building intrinsic motivation is hard, especially when the lure of the dopamine button is so very close. But what I can tell you is that, if you're only looking to the external, you're eventually going to hit a point where you feel hollow. And maybe you'll feed it by pressing that lever again and again, hoping to feel the same way you did the first time. But you'll never feel that way. Not unless you really care about and love what you do first and foremost.

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Speaking of intrinsic motivation…(and extrinsic…)

Unless you're very interested in The International Handbook of Threat Assessment, there hasn't been much going on in this space for a month or so that doesn't pertain to work. However, I would like to finally finish The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson and also read Daniel Kraus’ PULITZER WINNING Angel Down! Which is for book club so now I have to. Haha, brain, beat that!

It’s still baseball season and my White Sox are looking pretty amazing! I haven’t watched much else; been studying too hard.

Still rotating a lot of Linkin Park but I am this close to listening to the new Olivia Rodrigo album so stay tuned.

Beep boop beep. What will be next? The new Ocarina graphics look devastating…

A lot of other stuff! I have been to a few baseball games. I've been to Philadelphia for a conference (and not much else, sadly). I passed a very very hard and important exam. And honestly the exam kind of ate me so that was about it for the month.