In our childhood we remember the system of rewards and punishments, which our parents and / or teachers put in place to encourage us to do the right things and not do the wrong things. Rewards were pleasurable and punishments were to be feared. We grew up under the influence of this system.
However slowly and unknowingly we started becoming dependent on the pleasures which came to us by way of rewards, recognition, approvals, pats on the back. We also became dependent on avoiding actions that lead to the fearful consequences of censure , criticism, firing. Now we became easily controllable and unknowingly lost our independence
This loss of independence started showing up in our careers. Pleasing the boss became a pleasurable experience to many of us. We started working towards recognition and rewards. We lost track of our own career agendas even if we ever had such agendas in place. We got lost in the jungle of rewards and punishments.
Our bosses know this very well and did not hesitate to use this system to control our behavior. Performance appraisal ratings , increments, promotions stock options etc. ... right up to a nod of approval started driving our behavior. We became incapable of charting our own course. This led us to a general feeling of being lost and demotivated. We had to continually pay a price to get our regular fix of appreciation.
We need to understand our dependence on this system and grow out of it just the way we grew out of the need for candy and toys, Growing out of it will enable us to create our own course and progress along our chosen growth path. We need to make the system of rewards and punishments irrelevant in our work lives by growing out of it. Only then we can enjoy the freedom in our work lives and be the masters of our destiny.
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