Can you give TOO MUCH positive reinforcement?

Positive reinforcement....

We use it in teaching.  We use it in parenting.  It's a great tool, right?

I absolutely agree that the kid who is listening intently and engaging in class discussions should be encouraged and recognized for their choices.  I love that the kids who kept all of their points during our point system were rewarded with pizza for lunch. I've even given out small prizes to teams of students who have made great choices throughout the month.

But can there be TOO MUCH?

Have you ever played a game in class and, at the end, get the question, "so what do I get?"

Have you ever asked someone to do something for you and got the question, "what do I get?"

In this world of instant gratification, I feel as though we are building a generation of people that need to know "what is in it for me?" and not just down the road, but right NOW.

Why is this a problem?  Success doesn't happen over night and it takes WORK!

If you are looking to be financially successful, it takes WORK.  There is no "get rich quick" deal that will make you millions.  You must work hard at whatever it is you're doing every day to eventually build your income.

If you are looking to have a successful relationship, you need to work at it.  Maybe it seems simple at first, but then it takes communication and compromise and making time for each other in order to continue to last.

If you want to be healthy, there is no magic pill or patch or ANYTHING that is going to make you lose 20 lbs. and be healthy and fit over night.

Why do people tend to give up on fitness routines?  Because they aren't seeing results fast enough.

Why do people tend to put those 100-200 calories per day that they initially cut out of their diet right back in?  Because they aren't seeing results fast enough.

Have you read The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy?  If you haven't, you really should.  Our choices that we make each day are what builds who we become years down the road.  If we keep making the wrong choices day after day....we're not going to end up in a place we want to be.  But if we just make small changes that are positive each day, they WILL compound each day in order to improve our lives.

If you don't think you have time to workout, join my five minute fitness group.  Yes, it is only five minutes per day, but it is 25 minutes per week that you weren't doing before.  It's 100 minutes per month that you weren't doing before.

If you don't think you can change your nutrition because you don't have the will power to cut out junk food, don't cut it out...just cut it back.

Any kind of success is going to take work and if you want results, you need to be able to make the choice to do it every day....even if you aren't seeing result for months or years down the road.

So, what do we need to be teaching our children?  That not all rewards in life are immediate.  That sometimes we work hard and don't see the results right away.  That sometimes the "prize" is the joy of winning or increased knowledge.  Possibilities for success are endless, but you can't give up and you have to put in the work.