Psychological Musings
Becoming a Little Addicted to the Little Green Dot?
How the little green dot became a symbol for me of learning opportunities and motivational incentives
The first time that I saw a little green dot appear on the bell icon of the Medium app I thought, “Oh boy, I bet I will be checking that little green dopamine ‘agonist’ more often than I should.”
As if to confirm my prediction, last week, while I was sitting behind my desk pondering what to write about for my next Medium article, and feeling a bit uninspired, I noticed that I repeatedly migrated back to the bell icon, looking for my little green friend, only a minute or so after my last check.
“Hmmm … still no green dot,” I mused. Later that day, as I reflected on my behavior and my mental state, I realized that I had been looking for a little incentive to kickstart my creative process.
This search for motivation brought me back to the years I spent writing my book, which turned out to be a massive project. The writing process felt lonely at times, at least until the book was finally ready for review and editing. From that point onward, it became a shared undertaking with my favorite editor and a couple of wonderful proofreaders. I no longer felt any…
