Reflection: What shiny dimes…

Reflection: What shiny dimes…

Reflection: What shiny dimes… 696 904 THINKER THURSDAYS™

Dad bribed me to complete my first book.

The offer seemed pretty generous: One shiny dime. The Tooth Fairy’s going rate in the 1970s.

I whipped through See Spot Run.

He was pleased placing that dime in my palm. 

Candy money pleased me.

Yet that exchange was a catalyst. A love of books eventually kicked in. Payments soon phased out. I never stopped reading. 

On the face of things, it seems like one of Dad’s parenting triumphs. 

Yet today I see my reading habit was less about my candy-purchasing power, than perhaps…

The autonomy I felt reading on my own?

The sense of accomplishment?

The thrill of exploring unknown worlds?

Writer Dan Pink tells us the salary isn’t what primarily motivates an employee. Drive includes 2 types: extrinsic (dimes) and intrinsic (discoveries). 

He further posits that the intrinsic takes 3 forms: autonomy (self-direction), mastery (meaningful improvements), and purpose (bigger meaning). 

I’m now reading with my daughter. She’s at a tipping point. 

It leads me to wonder if shiny dimes risk obscuring her self-motivation and satisfactions found in exploring. 

In another context, I also wonder if the truth of my youthful “dime novels” applies even now in my adult, work life.

Now I ask: What shiny dimes are obscuring your exploration?

THINKER THURSDAYS™
Read. Connect. Reflect.