Succeeding makes us feel good. But beating someone else makes us feel really good. Comparing ourselves to others and coming out on top creates a sense of entitlement. And when we feel entitled, we cheat more because, of course, the rules don't apply to awesome people like us.
Interpretation
Success can bring joy, but surpassing others often leads to a false sense of superiority and entitlement.
In this quote, Daniel H. Pink highlights the psychological effects of success, pointing out that while achieving personal goals can boost our happiness, the thrill of outperforming others can lead to a dangerous sense of entitlement. This entitlement may encourage unethical behavior, as individuals feel justified in bending the rules to maintain their perceived superiority, revealing how competitiveness can corrupt our morals.
In practice
In a motivational speech discussing the dangers of unhealthy competition in the workplace.
While complying can be an effective strategy for physical survival, it's a lousy one for personal fulfillment. Living a satisfying life requires more than simply meeting the demands of those in control. Yet in our offices and our classrooms we have way too much compliance and way too little engagement. The former might get you through the day, but only the latter will get you through the night.
When we make progress and get better at something, it is inherently motivating. In order for people to make progress, they have to get feedback and information on how they're doing.
We have this myth that extroverts are better salespeople. As a result, extroverts are more likely to enter sales; extroverts are more likely to get promoted in sales jobs. But if you look at the correlation between extroversion and actual sales performance - that is, how many times the cash register actually rings - the correlation's almost zero.
Too many people hold a very narrow view of what motivates us. They believe that the only way to get us moving is with the jab of a stick or the promise of a carrot. But if you look at over 50 years of research on motivation, or simply scrutinize your own behavior, it's pretty clear human beings are more complicated than that.
Greatness and nearsightedness are incompatible. Meaningful achievement depends on lifting one's sights and pushing toward the horizon.
In many professions, what used to matter most were abilities associated with the left side of the brain: linear, sequential, spreadsheet kind of faculties. Those still matter, but they're not enough.
I want to thank the NBA and U.S.A. Basketball. Words can't describe my feeling. I was a small town kid from Hamburg, Arkansas, and you provided me a platform to live out my passion, the game of basketball, on the world's grandest stage.
The high point for me in my career was when Sinatra called me his favourite performer in the Fifties. And I've been sold out ever since.
After we played Sporting last week, the lads in the dressing room talked about him constantly, and on the plane back from the game they urged me to sign him. That's how highly they rated him.
Wealth is the product of energy times intelligence: energy turned into artifacts that advantage human life.
If you're not working to get your business or investing operation to operate without you, you're thinking too small. Think team and systems.
Do not measure success by today's harvest. Measure success by the seeds you plant today.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.