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I love it here so to me Iward Quest is like candy to a kid. Is it addictive? I've noticed that my very first website of the day lately is Inward Quest. What about you? I get excited to see the comments and if I helped someone my day is made and if not and the comment isn't good I feel a bit sad even though I hate addmiting it. And then there are those points that no matter how much I try not to be loored by they are there like a shining beacon of tempt. I supose I'm human after all which will suprise my husband as he thinks I'm an Alien (LOL). |
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The way you create an addicted gambler (or make someone obsessed generally) is to offer inconsistent gratification. This means you make them feel great for something they did but you only offer that reward occasionally. It's a strange fact of human nature that if you offer too many rewards consistently, people lose interest. If you offer too few rewards consistently, people lose interest. Make the rewards unpredictable and you can have addicts for life :) So what are the rewards offered on Inward Quest? I think primarily the site plays upon our conditioned needs to have the approval of others. Sometimes you think you've written a helpful answer for someone and it's clear they have benefited from it and they reward you with "written thanks" or "reputation points". Other times, you get nothing at all in return. And, even on some occasions, they actually get upset with you because you've told them something they are not ready to hear or don't want to hear. From my observations, many of the people who interact here regularly fall into the category of teachers and uplifters (the spiritual kind). And when you are engaged in that kind of activity, you like to know that what you've offered to someone else has been of value to them...because that desire to uplift and be of service comes from a broader intent that was held before projecting to this planet. Hence, when someone doesn't respond favorably to what is offered, these teachers can take it much harder than someone who doesn't care at all about others...the desire to uplift is already flowing strongly with teachers and so the obstacles to it can be far more painful...like the difference between hitting a tree in your car at 5 mph compared to hitting it when driving at 100 mph. So the feeling of reward is magnified on Inward Quest for those teachers when their advice is being taken well, and similarly the feeling of pain is magnified when that advice is ignored or simply attacked. So added to the inconsistent gratification above, we also have inconsistent punishment ...which also does wonders for creating powerful addictions :) So it all sounds pretty bad for Inward Quest actually...creating all these addicted spiritual teachers :) But I think that viewing it in that rather negative way is missing the point. You see, if that pull/push of positive/negative approval is within you online then it's within you offline as well. I've noticed that since interacting on this site and dealing with many of those approval issues within myself that, in my offline world, I'm much less willing now to care about what others think about the way I live my life...and that attitude is self-enhancing. As you become more independent in thought and action, you accept more responsibility for your own life. As you accept more responsibility for your own life, you become more independent in thought and action. In essence, we become more and more of that self-directed creator of our own reality that we originally intended to be...and you step outside more and more of the attempted manipulations and influences of our sensory physical realities that keep so many others trapped. So, summing up...yes, Inward Quest can make you addicted very easily indeed but it's providing an opportunity for you in doing that. In noticing and dealing with these (approval-based) addictions in this relatively harmless online world, you can lead yourself into some powerful transformations in your offline world. Thoughts on inconsistent gratification and punishment were great!
(08 Sep '11, 12:38)
Asklepios
Thanks so much Stingray that is an awsome answer and it says it all.
(08 Sep '11, 12:50)
Paulina 1
Excellent Work ;-) ♥♥
(04 Mar '13, 20:29)
Starlight
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Hi my name is ursixx and I am an I.Q.holic.
And keep coming back Thanks Ursixx, it is thought provoking isn't it? Users and dealers? When it comes to I.Q. I think I'm going to need your serenity prayer.
(10 Sep '11, 06:38)
Paulina 1
Just looked at my profile been here 4 years now!"To thine own self be true"
(21 Jan '14, 19:48)
ursixx
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I see I Inward Quest as my way of giving something back to the world, and in doing so, it has become a delightful obsession at times...especially when I should be doing other stuff and instead, find myself writing for IQ. Am I addicted? I really don't think so, but even if I was, it would mot matter to me a bit as, as Stingray has pointed out, the benefits of the obsession far out-weigh the problems. As for the points...heck yeah, they matter! It is nice to have the recognition of my peers for what I write and think. It is a nice little "rush" when I hit some new milestone or other. (I have to honestly say that it did not feel good to pass up Wade...now, the order of my world seems a bit off-kilter. But I am positive he will pass me by again, as I am back in school again and don't have as much time as I once did to write.) One more thing I have discovered that I have a passion for writing, period. I also write for Hub Pages, and that is bliss for me, too. You might want to check that out! Who knows? Maybe you will find out what I did: writing is, and always will be, my greatest joy! Blessings, Jai Thanks Jai this is a great way to give back to the world and jes I will have a look at Hub Pages.
(08 Sep '11, 12:54)
Paulina 1
Paulina, with your writing skill, Hub Pages would be perfect for you. I wish you luck. My stuff at Hub Pages is also under my name of Jaianniah, just in case you want to check it out...Blessings, >>>>>>>>>>>>
(08 Sep '11, 12:58)
Jaianniah
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Actually, the points by themselves don't really mean anything other than you spend a lot of time on the site. Perhaps a better indication of recognition would probably be average points per question or answer...but even then, it only generally means there are others here who agree with what you've written (which is not always a good thing when trying to come up with original thinking)...so the value of the points is to probably to help you ultimately realize that there is no value in the points. Very Zen :)
(09 Sep '11, 09:58)
Stingray
Totally Zen! I like your question average idea...but that is probably more because I dig statistics than actual vanity...so, in the end, you are right- at best, the points just influence me enough to keep at it, but you are ultimately correct. Very Stingray ;o)>>>>>>>>>>>
(09 Sep '11, 12:27)
Jaianniah
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Anything can become addictive if it meets several of your needs at a high level. Human needs psychology states our needs as being:
So if you are meeting at least 3 of those needs at a level of 7 or higher on a scale of 1 to 10, then yes it's an addiction of sort. But then you have to consider is it positive, negative or neutral for you? By the way, what is an alien? What if we are all aliens?...lol Wishing you peace and love :) Hi akaVienne this is an interesting answer and I like it. A positive addiction sounds a lot better than just ordinary addiction.
(10 Sep '11, 06:37)
Paulina 1
We are all Aliens on mothership Earth? Cant wait to tell my husband this one....lol
(10 Sep '11, 06:42)
Paulina 1
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For me it's like a group of personal development on line ... the tarot deck is well known for stimulating the imagination and opening the doorway to our subtle world ... inward quest has a similar effect, though can be much stronger ... browsing through the questions and answers sometimes gives the impression of handling a "living" tarot deck, of being carried along on a wave of human energy ... during these moments it feels great and can be constructive ... moreover feeling part of a group is benefic. Though sometimes all this can make us go through painful crisis, it can act as a platform on which to analyse and construct our individuality. Addiction has purely negative connotations ... to evolve we need both positive and negative to bring about expansion of consciousness. Have a great day :) Thanks Blubird, true answer.
(20 Mar '12, 05:48)
Paulina 1
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some might be addicted because they are hungry for something and canno't do with out it. but for me personnally i am not addicted i come here by choice. what ever i decide so shall it be. and i have decided to share with my brother and sister. may thoses stones serve you. when they serve you no more drop them at their proper place. but do not cast them at someone else because fire will come out of them and burn you. experience and enjoy. I'll remember that. The stones serve me well.
(06 Oct '12, 13:50)
Paulina 1
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I come here for personal advancement. I find that when I interact here, I gain important personal insights. There is joy in the connection. I dislike the word 'addiction', because to me it has negative connotations. There is a mind-meld when I talk, either online or in person. Many of the people here help me reach a better connection with my Source. A part of me mixes with a part of them, co-creating new insights. Perhaps it is through our relationships that we define ourselves. I am enjoying this journey and the friends I am seeing, Each one a different flavor, yet a surreal similarity of joint brothers and sisters traveling together! We mix and match and coalesce, growing and changing through our common bond through Source. Addicted, no, but having a wonderful time, here. Learning and having fun! What else is there? |
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This is tough to answer because I know Jai would say to me and has said, "You're addicted to Inward Quest." I used to respond to that with, "I can't be addicted to IQ because it is not habit forming like cigarettes, alcohol or drugs, those are addictions." But she responded with, "People are addicted to all kinds of things not just those." She even pointed out people can be addicted to the television or video games! Ouch! That hurt, since growing up most my time was spent playing video games or watching television. I get on IQ before I go to sleep, sometimes it can even delay my sleep a number of hours. I check it out when I get up and when I get time through the day. Sometimes Jai gets frustrated talking to me while I am reading or writing an answer for IQ. Many times everyone here is so inspiring to me. The points are nice but what is really nice is that feeling of inspiration. Sometimes it can overpower the actual question to the point of this brilliant answer comes through but it is like the answer to a different question. That I attribute to my adult ADD, Look a squirrel! LOL I used to get very hurt from down voters but now I see that as a minority. Someone just down voted me for some question but most up voted me. Always look at the bright side of life. :-) The thing is let the inspiration be what matters to you. One more thing, sometimes you can get a question that you feel is the most revolutionary idea to come along and post it and it flops big time, no one understands it or worse most criticize it, or worse you. This can feel very disappointing but Stingray had a point, some things aren't for posting sometimes silence is golden. People just aren't ready to see this new epiphany you may have had. Likewise you may write an answer that you feel like, "Wow where did this come from, it is amazing, I never thought of it like that before!" then you find no comments or no points for a long time and feel like "That was a waste, no one needed or wanted that answer." Worse is negative comments or votes then you really know that your answer is unwanted. I guess if there really is addictions to things that feel good then yes, I could be considered addicted to IQ. Could be? You passed that up a long, long, long time ago!! I imagine myself some years hence, lying in a hospital bed... The doc comes in, and says,"Jai, you are dying..." You reply, "Wow! That gives me great idea for an IQ question!"....I love you anyway:) Jai
(22 Jan '14, 12:07)
Jaianniah
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in truth i tell you do not be sad you are appreciated. do not do what you hate. i might seam cold to you because i do not go in extreme. but if you are close to me you are near the fire.