Thanks to something (possibly the ruinous adhd medication regime I went through for my entire childhood) I don't really get any motivation from promises of carrots, only the sticks I try to avoid. Works great though, not unhappy, because doing good work still intrinsically satisfies me. I just really don't care about pleasing people (and yet I often do)
I never was medicated for anything, yet I still couldn't ever bring myself to care for "rewards". But then the "rewards" in childhood were kinda pointless. Like a good grade. Can't buy anything with a good grade, so what does it matter?
I've found myself caring more for video game worlds, since there's a sense of progress coupled with useful rewards in the context of what you are doing. There never was a reward in school that made school work easier.
Videogames--and later making / changing them--was my jam growing up. Unlike people who may emotionally hurt you (or you them), games and machines are controllable and predictable. Even multi-player gaming had more feeling of control than messy reality.
School by comparison was usually heavily regimented and too abstract for me. Thankfully higher grades in my district granted more and more choices and autonomy.
