My health strategy is as follows: stick to rigorous protocols while at home, so that when I travel, I can afford to be remarkably undisciplined and borderline abusive to my body.

So, I’m home now and going to the gym. It’s usually empty but sometimes there’s a group of four guys slightly younger than me in there, and we end up sharing the space.

Without fail, they finish every workout with a photoshoot. 

Then they spend the next five minutes smiling down at their phones, replying to comments, and comparing likes with one another. 

***

Quality work should be rewarded. That’s the foundation of our economic system. It generates growth.

But wait.

What if rewards ceased to be exclusive to quality work and instead extended to any work, regardless of ethical consequences, as long as it led to higher sales? And what if individuals began structuring their lifestyle (work, hobbies, goals) around the pursuit of those potential rewards?

What if the rewards arrived so quickly that generations became conditioned not only to anticipate recognition but to expect it rather immediately? 

Furthermore, what if these rewards were quantifiable, with specific values assigned to them? Evolutionary science suggests that such a scenario would lead to individuals comparing their rewards with everyone.

Well, not everyone; only the people you see through a screen.

***

If you had to choose between engaging in an unrewarded pursuit of excellence or average work rewarded handsomely, it’s a better bet long-term to pursue excellence.

Optimizing for excellence guarantees superior personal growth which is a prerequisite of authenticity and originality—qualities that increase in value as our society continues to quickly (but shallowly) reward and, consequently, multiply the sea of homogeneous automatons.

Thus, there's no actual need to choose. Rewards will come.

You just have to be willing to work(out) without the sound of an applause.