Ever since I was a kid, six or seven years old in a classroom where my teachers rewarded good behaviour by putting star-stickers next to the names of students listed on the wall, I’ve understood that only fools work for the appreciation of others. I still remember being that age and thinking something along the lines of: “I don’t care if there’s star stickers next to my name. I don’t want them. Is that how they plan to control me? They must think I’m an idiot if they reckon I’m going to work to please them in exchange for their praise; for a shiny foil sticker.” Unfortunately I was an anomaly. Most kids did work for that sticker, they worked for the praise of the authority then later they worked to make others like them, they learned that if they said and did what others expected of them, they’d be praised and appreciated for it –and that became the system of their lives; their programming. They carried that on into adulthood. Now working to please authority and others around them is all that defines them.
