Working for One's Self

I recently listened to an interview on PBS with author, Daniel Pink regarding his recent book about motivation, entitled, "Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us." Pink studied the research on human motivation and the surprising truth he discovered is that the old school method of "carrot and stick" incentives are decreasingly effective in moving us to do good work. Research reveals that "if-then" rewards systems are far less effective in moving us to work at a high level, than intrinsic motivations such as autonomy, mastery and purpose.

Whenever I see this kind of news coming from the secular world I am encouraged by evidence that the inner life of the individual counts for something in the marketplace. So often, it is believed that we have to leave our spiritual sensibilities outside the door of the work place or marketplace because in the "real world" the bottom line is not about soul satisfaction but production and profitability. When real world technology reveals that positive motivation and an inner sense of purpose lead to better performance and profitability, there is every reason to bring one's whole Self to the job at hand.

Of course this finding does not surprise those of us who know about the incentive of the drive toward wholeness, that spurs us to express more Self, wherever we find ourselves in life. It only confirms the premise and offers a wider palette of possibilities.

Yet despite our "no duh" response to this conclusion, there is still reason for our attention and celebration. When spiritual truths become eminently practical in the world their value in our human portfolios can skyrocket. While many of us have profited in immeasurable ways by principles and values rooted in spiritual wisdom, such values have not often translated into spendable manna.

This Sunday as we continue with the Go Giver series, we'll look at the Law of Compensation. In this principle we discover the reciprocal value of serving others, both the inner and outer rewards of bringing greater value to ot hers.