Why this happens
It's not surprising that we react this way. All we're doing is following the survival instincts inherited from our hunter-gatherer ancestors.
Of course, society's goals are infinitely more varied and advanced than they were 12,000 years ago. Success and safety today encompass so much more than finding food and not getting eaten by wolves.
But whatever success means to us personally, and however we set about achieving it, we can sometimes keep our eyes too much on the prize. We can become blind to the toll that the rinse-and-repeat processes needed to win it can take.
Exposing our nervous systems to this day after day is intense. If we're struggling in some way, whether financially, personally or professionally, then the mental and physical toll can be enormous.
Yet the taste of success, of victory over the odds, is still sweet. The dopamine hit is bliss. And so we want more. We go again. And again. We can get like the pensioners in Vegas casinos, throwing one quarter after another into the slot machines.
Why it's addictive
Success can be as addictive as anything. What better high than to thrive at something you're good at and that you enjoy, especially when it comes with apt financial rewards?
And you wouldn't think success could be dangerous, especially when working at something you love. When we do our work well and reap the rewards, we feel validated. We want to keep it doing because we enjoy it, so we do it more. And more. And more.
