In order to rest and, by extension, to dream, we first need to feel safe. If we don’t, our mammalian minds will keep part of our brains alert to scan for threats. I think a similar biological force drives my tendency to overwork. Despite my gainful employment and the support systems around me, I still fear, however irrationally, that I’ll lose my livelihood—or at least lose my career momentum. Unless I overdeliver, my logic goes, unless I continually prove my worthiness, I will somehow fall behind. I’ve adopted the values of capitalism as my own: Growth is progress. Stagnation is death.
