Child prodigies are hindered by achievement motivation. The drive to succeed is responsible for many of the world’s greatest accomplishments. When we’re determined to excel, we have the fuel to work harder, longer, and smarter. But as cultures rack up a significant number of achievements, originality is increasingly left to a specialized few.14 When achievement motivation goes sky-high, it can crowd out originality: The more you value achievement, the more you come to dread failure.15
