Airline loyalty programs are difficult to navigate. They’ve made it this way intentionally, because it provides customers with a sense of challenge—the same way a video game would. The question is, what’s the payoff?

Provided enough reward, the more of a challenge something is, the more you’ll strive to chase after it. Will it provide you with a sense of purpose? If not, what can you do to give it a shape that might reward you in a way beyond the dopamine rush?

For example, instead of obsessing over a free flight, is it worth focusing on the place and people you’re visiting? The money you’ll be able to invest more wisely? The unimagined possibilities you’re introducing into the path ahead of you?

When you find yourself bogged down in monotony and routine, zooming out and seeing the purpose a challenge provides you with—beyond the tangible reward—is generally useful.

It’s been a challenging few days for me writing this blog. As I struggled to type this out, something clicked. This experience of friction creates purpose for me, which is the whole point of the game.

When you remove friction, and introduce convenience, there’s less space for purpose to fit into the payoff as well.