Jaime Bartolotta

          You clicked this info link so there’s a distinct possibility that you find my graphics silly, even childish and perhaps you feel a bit insulted because, after all, you’re an adult not a kindergartner. Given that the proverbial “gold star sticker” is synonymous with incentivizing good behavior in children, it’s understandable you’d feel belittled and even insulted at being goaded along with gimmicky graphics, progress metrics, and occasional confetti.

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          So why does it (perhaps grudgingly) seem to work so well? Because, simply put, we love to win. Successes and celebrations, no matter how small, flood the reward center of our brain with the “happy” chemicals responsible for stimulating high-energy emotions as joy and triumph, building our confidence, engagement, and momentum to achieve more. Motivation, like a steam engine, requires a roaring hot fire to begin to budge, but once rolling, as long as its fire is consistently stoked, it becomes a virtually unstoppable force!