“Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.” — Colin Powell

[@ogulmusSocialContagionChallengeseeking2024]

Observing challenge-seeking in others increased the probability of participants choosing more challenging options. These results indicate that our motivation to seek challenges may be instilled, in part, through social processes.

Performance is contagious: sitting near a high performer can make you better at your job—your productivity rises. But sit near a low performer, and it can just as easily plummet.