Yikes:

Social pressure to conform in non-achievement can be pretty sinister and pervasive.
Sometimes I'm amazed that as a civilization we've managed to advance even half the level of progress that we have. That anything gets invented at all or anybody succeeds professionally. It seems like everything out there is so aggressively geared against the individual succeeding... I'm going to try and see the glass as not so half empty from now on but sheesh. All that junk tries its best to make trying to work or seek self improvement much more agonizing than it should be. Yes, yes I know, the counters to that assertion are limited resources, too many people, and various colorful grumbly philosophical rationalizations for people behaving uncivilized like animals and without any moral code or professional ethics. You can say "nobody is forcing you to pay attention to it all" but how responsible is telling people not to be in touch with what's going on around them? It can be downright dangerous. Yes trying to be hyper vigilant about all things at all times is a bad way to live too and also self destructive. Why always the appeal to extremes of behavior?