The Existential Dread of Being Productive

The capitalist framework of America teaches us to be productive, almost machine-like creatures in an ever-growing and fast-paced economic system. For instance, right from when we are toddlers, we are taught in order to be financially successful, we need to pour our energy into work. 

Growing up, I never truly realized how much of an effect these simple sayings would have on myself and those around me. I’ve noticed a trend whenever we are asked what we want to be when we grow up. When we are toddlers, many of us respond to the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” with our true aspirations: firefighter, astronaut, scientist, ballerina, etc. But when we grow older, these aspirations tend to change. When we reach high school graduation, our dreams of becoming astronauts usually change into that of the world of finance, or economics. Over time, our dreams begin to be crushed by the reality of corporate America, and with that, our productivity follows. 

There is a common misconception, that in order to become wealthy, all you need to do is put in the effort. However, this is hardly the case. With the recent fifteen dollar minimum wage debate, a large part of this discussion centers around whether or not a fast-food employee deserves to be paid the same as those with jobs considered of a “higher status”. Whichever side this debate is argued, it all centers around the topic of hard work. One could work ten hours a day and seven days a week at even a corporate job and not even see one percent of the kind of money that the top one percent of America sees. With that, a false narrative is being spread. There are many factors contributing to one’s success, and many times those factors are out of our control. 

In my youth, phrases such as “work hard to achieve your greatest dreams” really impacted me at that moment. I grew up throwing myself almost obsessively into work. I would always come up with new business ideas, and when they did not quite work, I would move onto the next thing. This is normal growing up as our interests change as our mind evolves and matures. However, I never quite lost the feeling that I was not doing enough. This has only got worse as the impending doom of college applications grows nearer and nearer. Sometimes, I even force myself to wake up earlier than usual, because I feel like if I don’t, then I am simply being unproductive. 

Existentialism can be defined as “an interpretation of human existence in the world that stresses its concreteness and its problematic character.” It came from the Danish term “existents-forhold,” which means “condition of existence.” The word itself was first coined in the 1940s by a French philosopher, however, its roots trace back to the 16th century. Philosophers such as Socrates and Aristotle began to philosophize about the world and how it was connected to the individual. Just as existentialism gives way to thoughtfulness and creativity, it also gives way to feelings of dread and questioning.

I feel much of this uncomfortable feeling is rooted in the way that we are pushed by society to keep producing bigger, and better things. We constantly have to keep innovating, or else we will fall behind. This is not just in daily life, but in the medical, technological, and perhaps any type of industry there is. Even the world of education cannot seem to take a breath.

This brings about a question: to what extent do these standards become impossible to reach? Existentialists argue in no way should society restrict free thought and our life’s potential. By this logic, the false narrative of working a little harder to lead to success, is in fact restricting the human mind. Instead of focusing more of our time trying to reach our creative potential, we are roped into the world of meaningless labor, just in the hope that one day we may be able to live freely. However, for many, this time never comes. And with that, we lose ourselves trying to find some way to escape the dreadful feelings that are coupled with inhumane work hours and wages that don’t reflect the inflation rate of America’s economy.

We are all included in this capitalist equation that if we produce enough hours of work, eventually, we will be rewarded. However, the more hours I spend trying to reach this goal, the more unrealistic it becomes. We can be great without constantly pushing ourselves to work more efficiently, and with that, we need to re-define what success means.