Is the obsession with self-improvement actually harming our well-being?
In short: In this interview, historian Kate Bowler examines the toxic side of optimization culture and the false promise that we can control the uncontrollable through mindset and habit.
Kate Bowler traces the origins of America's drive for self-making, linking the theology of the prosperity gospel to modern productivity hacks. She argues that self-help culture suggests we can fix any problem with the right five-step plan or better habits, yet this ignores the fundamental fragility of human life. By treating ourselves like machines to be upgraded, we deny our inherent mortality and dependence, a belief system that Bowler suggests is destined to fail us.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The dangerous and addictive fantasy of “unlimited potential” | Kate Bowler
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