Have you ever heard someone say: “A good life is all about constant achievements, results, and recognition."

Someone with this frame is constantly focused on evidence of how well they’re doing, usually in comparison to others or against some unit of measurement or standard set by society.

A high achiever might adopt this kind of frame, where all they do is look at how they can beat the next person, score more points, or get more people to like them. It's always about more, better, faster, stronger—essentially always trying to win. Or at least, that’s the evidence they focus on.

If they’re a so-called "loser," or if someone struggles but still holds this frame, they’ll focus on how they fail to meet these standards and how they constantly lose.

The narratives then centres around what’s "good enough." It’s about who’s the best, what it means to be a good person, who has value, and who doesn’t—all based on those achievements. The person with the most achievements is the most valuable person, and the person with the least is the least valuable. Those are the kinds of stories that emerge.

The reason I consider this an unhelpful framework is because, for most people, it either leads to burnout or depression.

If they're a high achiever, they can always find a way to be better, so they’re never satisfied.

If they’re a low achiever, they can always find someone doing better than them, which leaves them feeling like they’re not good enough.

Either way, you lose with this kind of frame.

To dive deeper into this topic, check out the original video here:

https://youtu.be/WzHR7tYS6GQ

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