Autonomy means you have permission to experiment. It’s the freedom to choose how you achieve your goal. You can play, and whether you win or lose, you can see how your own choices influenced the outcome. You aren’t punished for failing, but encouraged to try again, and do better.
Competence is a balance between challenge, and your ability to surmount it. Too hard and you may quit. Too easy and you get bored. The perfect balance puts you in a state of “Flow”. You’re motivated and focused beyond your means, and you find you can achieve things you weren’t expecting.
Relatedness is the feeling that you’re part of the family. That your contribution matters, and that you’re recognized, appreciated and respected for it.
The 3 principles of “Self Determination Theory” are familiar to every game designer, the masterful builders of environments that motivate, engage, and satisfy us for getting things done.
We win the games we enjoy enough to keep playing.
Is your work environment designed to help you win at your job?
