May 31, 2023

Balancing Novelty and Skill for Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic Motivation and Meaning

A balance between novelty and an individual's skill level is essential. Too much novelty can lead to anxiety, while too little can result in boredom. Intrinsic motivation involves feelings of interest and positive excitement that dominate over both anxiety and boredom.

During intrinsically motivated activities, people search for novelties and challenges, actively engaging with the world to discover new problems (Harlow, 1953; White, 1959; Deci & Ryan, 1985). This shows that intrinsic motivation primarily drives exploratory and mastery behaviours through interest and appetitive mastery tendencies rather than anxiety reduction.

Intrinsically motivated activities are energised by the need for competence. These activities involve orienting towards novel stimuli and optimal challenges as part of a continuous process of seeking out information-gaps in knowledge. Outliers thrive on disruption due to their intrinsic motivation.

Wayne Marsh

Serial Failer Former Poker Player Outlier360 Project

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Jun 8, 2023

Outlier Success & Sun Tzu

A common misinterpretation of Sun Tzu's Art of War is that competition involves 'deception' in the sense of lying, cheating, and manipulation. However, if we considered his work as aiming for peace being the highest form of excellence rather than destroying opponents, it can have a very, very, different meaning. For example, when Sun Tzu says "attack your enemy's plans," he…

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Maximising Potential Through Wisdom and Efficiency

Drawing a bow back to its maximum potential increases the likelihood of hitting the target. It's important to remember that doing the right thing, even if done imperfectly, is better than doing the wrong thing well. Unfortunately, when we focus on perfecting the wrong actions, our mistakes only grow larger. In some instances, improving efficiency can actually reduce…

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Overcoming Resentment through Better Understanding

Today, I met with a friend who was upset about a recent experience at a car dealership. He felt disrespected by the salesman and was still angry and frustrated about it even a week later. We discussed how holding onto these emotions wasn't helpful for him and that with more information, his feelings could change. I shared some examples from my own life, including an incident…

May 18, 2023

Let's be honest... More difficult than it sounds...?

What is a model for radical honesty, and how can we communicate it in a way that others understand both our actions and their role in them? Consider a quadrant with "benefit to self" and "benefit to others" as its cornerstones. The opposite side consists of losses to oneself and others. Examining this model, what benefits come from being truth seeking? People tend to value…

May 16, 2023

Mr Harsh

I've often been told that I'm straightforward in my conversations. This caught the attention of my wife who once remarked, "I wish I could be as straightforward as you." It made me wonder if there's a fear of being direct and possibly offending others. When something catches my attention like this, I try to dig deeper and understand what's going on. While some people might…

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Outlier Success & Sun Tzu

Maximising Potential Through Wisdom and Efficiency

Overcoming Resentment through Better Understanding

Let's be honest... More difficult than it sounds...?

Mr Harsh

More from Wayne

Outlier Success & Sun Tzu

Maximising Potential Through Wisdom and Efficiency

Overcoming Resentment through Better Understanding

Let's be honest... More difficult than it sounds...?

Mr Harsh