Success: A Mindset Shift. Why Are Americans Working So Hard?

Success is how you feel about what you’ve done. Do you feel proud of your growth as a person, and your relationships with your children? Do you feel content with the daily life that you lead, and the way you treat people? Are you in awe of the everyday beauty you experience, and elated by the people you meet in your travels?

This mindset shift challenges the modern viewpoint spoonfed to us in the media our entire lives. Growing up in the modern world, we see the constant glamorization of billionaires, and so many people dream of being rich, building an empire, and having all of the things that they could ever want. Then we hear, that money doesn’t buy happiness. We’re pushed to go to school, to get a good job, to make good money, and to make our parents proud, but in the same breath, we can’t take it with us.

Where does this cognitive dissonance come from? Why are Americans working so hard?

I have a theory. The truth is that money cannot buy happiness, and you cannot take it with you. That we know is true, but where does this push for financial success come from?

From my experience, I think there are a few main reasons why. One is that we are still living in the shadow of the baby boomers. What so many people don’t realize is that the baby boomer generation isn’t just defined by the fact that a whole lot of kids were born in a period of time, but also that when they entered the workforce, they were experiencing competition like generations before had never seen. It made them adapt to a world full of instability and made them feel like they could be easily replaced. This benefited big corporations because their employees were easier to exploit. When you were constantly afraid of losing your job to the person who was cheaper, or would do whatever the boss asked even at the expense of their family life and health, the corporation had the upper hand, and many corporations took advantage of that. This is why Americans are working so hard.

That constant fear of losing everything changed the way boomers parented. Parents worked so hard and were never home while pushing their children to go to college so that they could become the oppressors, and not be a part of the oppressed. Boomers wished for their children to be like their bosses to escape the humiliations they experienced. They were pushed to make a lot of money so that they wouldn’t have the constant fear of losing everything. In other time periods, parents may have focused on raising kind and loving humans, but now they strove to raise college material. Parents were proud to say that they had sons and daughters in college. Children want to make their parents proud, and this monster of complicated expectations and fear grew. Consecutive generations inherited all of this fear, added in some high expectations, and a need to feel validated by their parents. Now we have a generation of people who are constantly trying to get ahead, make their fortune, and make their parents proud, but they don’t even know who they are. This is why Americans are working so hard.

But life isn’t perfect because you make a lot of money. Money can’t buy happiness, and you can’t take it with you.

With this hyperfocus on financial well-being, people are starting to crave a different way of thinking, but they haven’t been able to put their finger on what it is that’s missing. When they do figure it out, and they take a step back from always chasing the golden calf, they often experience criticism, and ridicule, either real or perceived.

What’s the point if…

I’m working so hard that I haven’t taken care of myself, and I feel unhealthy.

I’m always working, and I don’t have time to do anything else.

I’ve made so much money, but I’m afraid to spend it on anything.

I’ve worked so hard all of my life that I don’t even know my children. Now I’m old, and I don’t have a relationship with them.

I’ve always had a good and respectable job, but I don’t know who I am.

I’ve worked so hard that my children don’t know who they are.

So what does it take to make a purposeful life? What makes us happy?

This is where the mindset shift needs to happen. We have to let go of this belief system that was handed to us out of fear. The challenge is that this shift has to happen collectively. Enough people need to push the needle. The norm needs to move in the direction of what we want the world to look like. We have to talk about it and act on it together.

We need to find balance in our lives, feel connected to our loved ones, and have a sense of self.

I keep hearing that “no one wants to work”. The truth is that no one wants to be exploited. People love having a sense of utility; it’s human need to feel useful, but when you are forced to work at the expense of your health, your relationships, and your sanity, that’s not ok. People are starting to reject that.

There is a shift happening where people are trying to make a good life for themselves, and not just a good living. As this collective shift continues to grow, the industries that embrace this will thrive. The industries that will die will continue to complain that no one wants to work, when in actuality they’re the ones that are unwilling to do the work. If the business model depends on taking advantage of others, it isn’t a sustainable business model. Those people need to figure out why they are willing to sell their souls for a buck.

So again, how do you feel about what you’ve done? Do you feel proud of your growth as a person, and your relationships with your children? Do you feel content with the daily life that you lead, and the way you treat people? Are you in awe of the everyday beauty you experience, and elated by the people you meet in your travels?

That’s worth a whole lot more than a fat bank account. It will bring you happiness, and you will carry it with you always.