I’m fascinated by the power of rewards.
If you’ve followed the blog much at all you will know that I love to take photos of slugs, and snails, and mushrooms, and flowers, and tree leaves, etc. …
Last week I learned in our forestry class about an app for my phone called Seek, by iNaturalist. So I downloaded the app, and last night I started playing with it for the first time.
You can point your camera at an object in nature, and the app will tell you what that plant/animal is. Not only that, you can select a photo you have taken in the past of an object in nature, and the app will tell you what that plant/animal is.
And not only that … you can earn rewards for the different items in nature you observe!
I was so undone by this! I started going back into my photos from this past year and selecting different nature items for the app to identify. And lo and behold … I started earning “Badges!” Who knew!
I earned a Bronze Amphibian Badge … for observing one amphibian. (the little salamander from this past Spring)
I earned a Bronze Mammal Badge … for observing one mammal. (the bobcat last week)
I earned a Bronze Insect Badge … for observing one insect. (This little Narrow-collared Snail-eating Beetle I took a photo of last Friday as I was walking loops for exercise around my front drive. I had no idea beetles were predators for snails!)
I earned a Bronze Fungi Badge … for observing one fungi. (Which suddenly became exceedingly annoying to me since the app wasn’t able to identify a dozen or more mushrooms which I’ve taken photos of over the past few months. I should be getting lots and lots of “Badges” for all those mushrooms I’ve discovered!)
Do you see the power of rewards already at work?
I have been enjoying taking photos of nature all along (for years now) … but as soon as I can start earning reward “Badges” for my observations, I instantly become competitive and annoyed that I don’t get “Badges” which I rightfully earned. When in reality … that reward “Badge” doesn’t mean anything at all.
Isn’t it amazing … the power of rewards!?
I earned a Gold Plant Badge … for observing 20 plants.
I just learned that this beauty is called Scarlet Flax. I had no idea. Isn’t it stunning!
And this is Orange Hawkweed.
And this is Common jewelweed. I was so delighted to discover its name. It seems to grow all over the place around here … particularly in boggy areas.
There are 5 other Species Badges which I have yet to earn.
* I haven’t observed any fish yet. (And how exactly am I going to get a good photo of a fish in order to earn my Bronze Fish Badge?? Do photos of fish in the aquarium tanks count?? Probably not.)
* I haven’t observed any mollusks yet. (What exactly is a mollusk? I need to figure that out! Because I need to earn my Bronze Mollusk Badge! Would that be all those little black mussels and barnacles all over the rocks at the seashore?? I need to figure that out!)
* I haven’t observed any reptiles yet. (Oh but I have! I need to find those photos of that little lizard out by the garden so I can get my Bronze Reptile Badge! Oh … and the little green frog in the garbage bin! And I even have a photo of a snapping turtle! Maybe I’ll be able to get my Gold Reptile Badge! Wouldn’t that be exciting!)
* I haven’t observed any birds yet. (Alas, the app won’t recognize my Red-Tailed Hawk photo from this past Spring … too far away. And my blurry photos of the Rufus Red hummingbirds! How am I ever going to get my Bronze Bird Badge??)
* I haven’t observed any arachnids yet. (I woke up this morning and my very first thought was of going out on the front porch to take a photo of the spider … so I could get my Bronze Arachnid Badge!)
The power of rewards!
I find it fascinating how God made us to respond so instinctively to rewards. Even if the reward is not anything much at all … like my nature app. It is amazing how a reward can motivate us! It can inspire us! It can drive us to push through things we wouldn’t otherwise push through.
Many years ago, on a whim and as a joke, hubby took a box of Jello (which he had discovered in the far back of his work desk drawer) and presented it to one of his coworkers as the Box of Jello Award for doing such a good job.
Would you believe that the entire team then became driven and motivated to earn the Box of Jello Award!
The box of Jello stayed on a person’s desk for several weeks (proudly displayed I might add!) … then at random, hubby would select the next recipient of the Box of Jello Award. It became a big deal! Everyone wanted to earn the Box of Jello Award!
This same thing happened again a few years later when hubby was out at a dinner event with his coworkers. He was absentmindedly playing with the little paper umbrella which had come in his drink, and on a whim he handed it to his coworker sitting beside him and said: “Congratulations, you have received the paper umbrella award.”
The next day at work, other coworkers started coming up to hubby asking how they too could earn a paper umbrella award. So … hubby purchased a packet of cheap paper drink umbrellas … and over the course of the next year, he would go around randomly handing out the “Paper Umbrella Award.” Once again, this award was highly sought after! And highly cherished!
The power of rewards!
It doesn’t even have to be anything big.
In our world today, where everyone is feeling beaten down … how about offering a little bit of encouragement to someone. A smile … for that customer service person with whom you interact each week … it just might be the “reward” that motivates them to keep going.
A text message to say “I’m thinking of you” … to that person whom God brings to your mind … that just might be the “reward” that gives them the strength to keep keeping on.
Offer a bit of encouragement today! It holds far greater power than you could ever imagine!
