When\u2019s the last time your boss said to you, or you said to an employee or staff member, \u201cHey, show up on Saturday morning and there\u2019ll be a \u2018kicker\u2019 in it for you,\u201d or \u201cIf you take on this special assignment, you can plan on a nice bonus,\u201d or \u201cDo this and there\u2019ll be a promotion for you when you\u2019re done.\u201d Never? Really\u2026? Why not? After all, isn\u2019t this just what we tell our Scouts\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cShow up for this project and you\u2019ll get service hour credit.\u201d \u201cGo on this hike and you\u2019ll complete requirement 7.\u201d \u201cCome to this event and you\u2019ll get a special patch.\u201d Don\u2019t we pretty much do this all the time?<\/p>\n
Are you seeing a disparity here? You bet! And it\u2019s a big one.<\/p>\n
The stuff in Scouting that\u2019s comparable to what life\u2019s made up of, like doing something because it\u2019s fun, or it\u2019s challenge, or it\u2019s in keeping with one of our principle of helping others, is pretty rare these days. Somehow, we think that dangling carrots, like credit for hours or completing a requirement, or getting a patch or badge, is the only way to motivate boys.<\/p>\n
Wrong.<\/p>\n
Fun motivates boys. Challenge and adventure motivate boys. A sense of accomplishment motivates boys.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut how will they advance, if we don\u2019t tell \u2018em they need to do this or that to complete requirements?\u201d you ask. B-P, more than a hundred years ago but no less true today, put it this way: \u201cAdvancement is like a sun tan\u2026 It\u2019s something that happens naturally when you\u2019re having fun in the out-of-doors.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no way I can top that! But I can take a quiet moment to remind myself that, if we dangle carrots for every little thing, we\u2019re teaching our sons to never think about doing anything for simply the sheer love of doing it. I think I\u2019d like my son to think differently from this. How about you?<\/p>\n
Happy Scouting!<\/p>\n