The Ideal

The greatest victory of the twenty-first century - nay, of the entirety of human existence as a structural component in society, is to gain external rewards for intrinsically motivated actions.

An intrinsic action is one whose motivation stems from within - an experience partaken in simply for the joy it provides the individual. An *extrinsic* action is an action taken as a means to an end, not for the sake of the experience itself.

In a world where quality of production is valued more than quality of action, it is only natural that the vast majority of humankind run on hamster wheels of extrinsically motivated action to satisfy their immediate needs, letting their attention be shaped by external factors, forever ignorant of the sheer potential that their minds hold. A mind whose psychic energy is undirected will naturally tend towards disorder, and will seek whatever shape its immediate environment grants upon it.

This is why the greatest ability to have as a human being at this specific point of time, and perhaps the most valued human ability throughout history, is to be able to shape and direct one's own psychic energy to achieve one's goals. This is *flow*. Unfortunately, this thought is not about flow, but about the path that one takes to achieve fulfilment in today's society in accordance with flow, because all too often those who partake in experience for its own sake are seen as not being prosperous in society's sense - but I do not believe that must be the case.

Stage 1: Extrinsically motivated, no rewards.

Stage 2: Extrinsically motivated, sufficient rewards.

Stage 3: Extrinsically motivated, excessive rewards.

Stage 4: Intrinsically motivated, no rewards.

Stage 5: Intrinsically motivated, sufficient rewards.

Stage 6: Intrinsically motivated, excessive rewards.

Note: This is not a strict progression. In fact, it is possible that individuals merge and transit between this stages in cycles, some as short as a few hours. Points towards the inherent State vs. Entity question with regards to human nature.

Do not confuse this for striving towards self-mastery simply to maximise the rewards one gets from society. To one who is truly intrinsically motivated, the rewards will make close to no difference. They are simply a byproduct of ones actions that are undertaken for the joy in its experience.

I am aware that this sounds suspiciously close to the "Escape the Matrix" bullshit being regurgitated by a number of people on the internet, but I believe that even though they view that movement as a sort of escape, their actions are still driven forward by extrinsic motivations. Money, power, fame, sex appeal, the desire to prove somebody wrong. And sure, this might produce superlative results in the short term, and perhaps even sustain these results for an entire lifetime, but it would not work for me personally, and I would be absolutely miserable, for the yardstick for my quality of experience would be how I measured up to those around me.

I think the biggest sorrow of all is that most people are not given the opportunity to explore the beauties of their own minds. They go through twenty-one years of extrinsically motivated education, and then give up on learning because it is a source of unpleasant memories. This leads to psychic entropy and disorder, and sadly enough, such a person will never be truly free.

After their education, they go through forty-odd years in the workforce, and thankfully some of them find sources of happiness, flow, and intrinsically motivated hobbies that add to their quality of life. But a lot of them live lives of quiet desperation, always missing something, and thus always following society's promises of fulfilment because they do not know where they could find the same on their own.

Who runs this machine?

Is it the CEOs, or maybe the government?

Maybe it's the hidden five great families that have funded both sides of every war since Napoleon?

Or maybe today's society is just the product of centuries of human thinking and comfort seeking. For even those at the top are human, and are all too often the most flawed of us all.

The only true escape is to stop playing the game altogether. But in a society where your performance in this great game determines whether you live or die, that might appear all but impossible.

Strive. Overcome. Ascend.