Some of us respond to this competition by rising to the challenge and submitting to the tyranny of self-improvement, which demands constant optimizing, always making healthier choices, always discovering ways to be and do and work better. In chapter three, I will refer to this group as the Affirming because their basic posture toward society is one of affirmation. Others, a group I’ll call the Resigned, accept that they will never be able to successfully compete and turn to the allure of despair, killing time with immersive entertainment until death comes or circumstances change. For both the
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