Second, our internal motivation and experience shift. Gone are the days of intrinsic joy and wanting to play or perform. They are gradually replaced by external drivers. Ellen Winner noted that the prodigies who failed to translate early talent to success in adulthood experienced “excessive extrinsic control and pressure, leading to a decline of intrinsic motivation.” She went on to conclude, when we push too hard “the intrinsic motivation and rage to master these children start out with become a craving for the extrinsic rewards of fame.”
