Asymptote of Enough
We were told that if we put in enough effort, the world is ours. But no one warned us what we’d lose along the way.
Welcome to the age of constantly chasing, where everyone talks about goals, progress, and the hustle. Where being ambitious isn’t chosen, rather it’s expected.
A silent race starts as soon as we get our first school report card. We don’t register for it. We have been enlisted in a competition for better grades, better colleges, more lucrative jobs, more prestigious titles, and more upscale lifestyles. Ambition isn’t a problem; unexamined ambition is.
We’re conditioned to run faster, harder, and nonstop, but hardly ever do we stop to reflect on what we’ve been working toward all along, and to understand the ‘why?’ behind it. Success? Security? Being important? Or simply keeping up with the others?
This is the modern rat race: an unrelenting quest for “more”, motivated by fear of being irrelevant, comparison, and social expectations. This engineered psychological treadmill is costing us more than our time and energy – our peace, purpose, sometimes even our sanity, and still keeps us wondering: Is it enough?
The Asymptote of ‘Enough’
Earlier success was simply a measure of survival. Soon it transformed to a measure of status, and now? Visibility. We equate being seen with being successful. This never-ending pursuit is both socially produced and psychologically damaging.
According to a Deloitte study from 2022, 77% of professionals are burnt out at their current jobs. Burnout isn’t just a personal problem, but a systemic plague that affects innovation, workplace satisfaction, and productivity.
India tops the chart for the longest average weekly working hours in the world (Statista, 2024), yet it ranks a disheartening 126th out of 146 countries in the World Happiness Report (2024). Where is the reward for our efforts, the peace that diligence once promised?
And social media doesn’t help. Over 60% of millennials feel pressured to continuously project success on social media, according to LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence Index (2023).
Employee well-being is not the only concern that this data puts through. It has to do with companies burning out their best employees, misaligned success metrics, and broken incentive structures.
At the heart of this crisis lie subtle psychological traps:
We are constantly running, not always because we want to, but because we feel we can’t stop. Every accomplishment gives us a brief sense of satisfaction, but then pushes us to raise the bar again. So we move the goalpost, again and again, having fallen prey to the Hedonic Adaptation, in the hopes that it will eventually lead to fulfilment as we pursue the next milestone. It doesn’t.
Then comes the social comparison theory: We measure our progress against others, especially through carefully curated feeds on Instagram and LinkedIn, which may not always convey the whole story. It’s not just about doing well anymore, it’s about doing better than the rest, even if that “rest” is just a filtered illusion.
And do we ever stop? The sunk cost fallacy whispers to us, “I’ve come this far, I can’t stop now”. The sacrifices, the time, the effort – they seem too great to walk away from. We convince ourselves we have no choice. I can’t go back. I’ve invested too much. I have to keep going… even if I no longer know why.
What began as ambition becomes an addiction. What started as a dream becomes a checklist of expectations, a never-ending one.
Organisations aren’t immune to this trap either. When businesses mirror the race of ‘growth at all costs’, the chronic overwork leads to a toxic cycle of over-promising and under-delivering, reduced creativity, poorer problem-solving, and lower employee retention.
Those who find meaning in their work, however, are three times more engaged and productive, according to Harvard Business Review studies. Google’s Project Aristotle verified that the best indicator of high-performing teams was psychological safety rather than top-down control.
After implementing weekly deliverables and round-the-clock availability, attrition increased by 22% at a top-performing FMCG company. A rethink of the strategy was presented:
Role-rotation policies, required recharge days, and psychological safety training
Outcome? Productivity increased while attrition decreased by 15%.
The Way Out
What if we stopped using titles, goals, and deadlines as the sole indicators of success? What if being well emotionally, mentally, and socially was the new metric instead of being noticed or praised?
This change is already hinted at in several consulting-backed strategies. Businesses such as BCG are experimenting with detachment cultures, which include quiet Fridays after 2 p.m. and no work messages after 7 p.m. OKRs have long been supported by Google, not only for growth but also for psychological safety, which is a significant predictor of team performance. Some organisations are introducing purpose-alignment workshops to assist staff in rediscovering the “why” behind their work.
However, structural change is insufficient on its own. We must examine the things we reward, including sustainability, innovation, and teamwork, in addition to hustle. To accommodate sabbaticals, side trips, and even purposeful “slower lanes” for individuals who are burning bright but burning out, we must rethink careers as landscapes rather than ladders.
Governments also play a part. With shorter work weeks and more robust safety nets, Scandinavian nations routinely score highest on global happiness indices. These are re-prioritised systems, not utopias. India can spearhead a similar paradigm shift because of its youthful labour force and developing economy.
And for each of us? The concept of “enough” needs to be relearned. It should be remembered that stopping isn’t quitting; sometimes it’s just choosing to live. To be at peace, unplug guilt-free, and celebrate small wins. To not only be productive but also to be present.
Success must be defined by the individual, not by likes, promotions, or applause, if it is to mean anything at all. Because if everything we do is motivated by the desire to be more, have more, and show more, then perhaps the only thing we are lacking is enough.
CITATIONS
What makes work meaningful? (2023, July 12). Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2023/07/what-makes-work-meaningful
Cromidas, R. (2025, May 3). Career pessimism is growing. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/career-pessimism-is-growing-6797105/
World Health Organization: WHO. (2019, May 28). Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases. World Health Organization: WHO. https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-inte national-classification-of-diseases
Workers in India have the longest work week in the world. (n.d.). Voronoi. https://www.voronoiapp.com/work/Workers-in-India-Have-The-Longest-Work-Week-In-The-World–3295
Pretty, N. (2024, December 1). Project Aristotle: Google’s Data-Driven Insights on High-Performing Teams. AristotlePerformance. https://www.aristotleperformance.com/post/project-aristotle-google-s-data-driven-insights-on-high-performing-teams