The Gold Star

The Gold Star

When we were growing humans we were sometimes awarded something extra for our good performance. If we did well enough on a spelling assignment we would get something far more glorious than a letter grade -we would get a GOLD STAR. Ding!

We knew nothing of the value of this gold star other than its luster which made it stand out as something better than an A+. The imprint of the importance of the gold star was imposed on us by our teacher and by our own innate insecurities which lead us to want to be as good as the other kid who got the gold star. If we too can get the gold star everyone around us will be happy and we will be happy too. We learn to achieve self-validation through validation from others, and the trampling rat race to get the cheese begins. Nowadays every kid gets a gold star!

But the actually valueless gold star didn’t go away after childhood. It has sneakily followed us into adulthood. The gold star is now a collection of meaningless approvals we seek -employee of the month, a fancy car, the gold watch, the official club shirt, the better seat to the show, the cool shoes everyone else is wearing, etc. We can sometimes waste a lot of energy and potential chasing these ghosts. We can also lose sight of things of higher value in our endeavors to achieve things of perceived importance. We lose sight of the achievement itself and strive for the reward. Striving for importance is not invaluable. The encouragement can be an important tool, but the wild free mustang doesn’t wear blinders and doesn’t miss out on the world around. Ultimately, if we strive for achievements for reasons of true personal value, adequate amounts of superficial and superfluous toys and entertainments will still be there for our enjoyment without the need for extra running in the hamster wheel. The icing will find the cake.

There’s nothing wrong with desiring a few nice things, but we can steer our energies so to not waste them entirely on frivolous rewards at the cost of chronic loss of potential.

Sometimes these gold stars can be used to manipulate us into doing things we don’t like for the promise of the false reward. Sometimes we don’t fall for this trick. Therein is the personal revolution.

"Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and fashions." -Jack Kerouac

So, strive for greatness, oh standing apes, but make sure it isn’t just a worthless sticker.