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Ask HN: Anyone else motivated by the stick not the carrot?

2 points by bs_alumna ↗ HN
I got my dream job by reading the twitter messages and slack messages of my critics. The only problem is that they seem to be running out of steam. How do I motivate my critics to motivate me to be my best?

4 comments

[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 33.0 ms ] thread
hitsurume
Be your own biggest critic? Leans into the perfectionist mindset.
quickthrower2
> I got my dream job by reading the twitter messages and slack messages of my critics.

Sounds like an interesting story

murm
I've found that the stick only works when starting from a lowly place to get up to speed. Envy, resentment, anger etc. are very draining and unstable sources of motivation and it's hard to build a long-term strategy upon them. At some point genuine interest should take over as your motivation so you don't burn yourself out.
giantg2
Once you realize that you'll never get the carrot because it's being dangled out of reach, then then the stick is all that's left. This is the case for me.