givens

English translation: these rewards cannot be taken for granted

14:11 Feb 17, 2008

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Social Sciences - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

English term or phrase: givens

"Learning to be motivated solely by naturual rewards is also necessary if you want to be your own boss. Yes. they often achieve external rewards such as money or praise. But these are never givens. There's no boss to guarantee you'll get them. You can try to approximate them."

What does it mean by "these are never givens"?

jomo KudoZ activity Questions: 94 (2 open) (1 without valid answers) (1 closed without grading) Answers: 0 South Korea
Local time: 16:09

Selected answer:these rewards cannot be taken for granted

Explanation:
A 'given' implies that something will happen automatically.

HTH
Sara

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Note added at 1 hr (2008-02-17 15:24:34 GMT)
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OK, jomo.

This is how I understand it; being your own boss may provide you with the outside rewards of praise or increased income, but there is no guarantee of this (this is why the author says the external rewards are not "givens"). Since being one's own boss may not set you on a certain path to fortune and acclaim, you need to be motivated by other gains such as deciding when and where you work, not having to answer to superiors, only having your own mistakes to deal with - a multitude of other benefits other than just financial gain and/or the approval of a boss.

I hope this helps a little. ;o)

Selected response from:

Sara Noss
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:09

Grading comment

Yes, It helps a lot. Thank you very much !
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

3 +7

these rewards cannot be taken for granted

Sara Noss

Nobody gives them to you

salavat

Answers

5 mins confidence:

Nobody gives them to you

Explanation:
If you are your own boss.

salavat
Local time: 12:09
Works in field
Native speaker of:

Russian
PRO pts in category: 4

3 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +7

these rewards cannot be taken for granted

Sara Noss
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:09
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 13

Grading comment

Yes, It helps a lot. Thank you very much !

Notes to answerer

Asker: Could you kindly explain why the author says "But these are never givens" here in this context ? I know the literal meaning of "givens".

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givens

English translation: these rewards cannot be taken for granted

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