“Impact obsession: Feeling like you never do enough good” by David_Althaus, Ewelina_Tur

SummaryImpact obsession is a potentially unhelpful way of relating to doing good which we’ve observed among effective altruists, including ourselves. (More)What do we mean by impact obsession?One can distinguish unhealthy and healthy forms of impact obsession. (More)Common characteristics include an overwhelming desire for doing the most good one can do, basing one’s self-worth on one’s own impact, judging it by increasingly demanding standards (“impact treadmill”), overexerting oneself, neglecting or subjugating non-altruistic interests, and anxiety about having no or negative impact. (More)Is impact obsession good or bad?Many aspects of impact obsession are reasonable and even desirable. (More)Others can have detrimental consequences like depression, anxiety, guilt, exhaustion, burnout, and disillusionment. (More)What to do about (unhealthy) impact obsession?Besides useful standard (mental) health advice, potentially helpful strategies involve, for example: reflecting on our relationship with and motives for having impact, integrating conflicting desires, shifting from avoidance to approach motivation, cultivating additional sources of meaning and self-worth, reducing resistance [...] ---Outline:(05:31) Why we wrote this post(06:21) What do we mean by impact obsession?(06:25) Healthy vs. unhealthy impact obsession(08:25) Common characteristics(08:56) Overwhelming desire for maximizing positive impact(09:41) Self-worth and identity are linked to impact(10:09) Personally demanding (or unreasonable) standards(10:39) Excessive comparisons and the impact treadmill(11:50) Pushing oneself too hard and neglecting non-altruistic interests(12:34) Black-and-white thinking(13:07) Frequent worries about (prioritization) mistakes(13:40) Obsessive thoughts about impact(14:11) Impact obsession, clinical perfectionism, and scrupulosity(15:57) Benefits and costs(16:00) Isn’t impact obsession reasonable?(17:43) Benefits(18:54) Potential negative consequences of unhealthy impact obsession(19:11) Depression, feeling worthless or unable to contribute(21:05) Anxiety and guilt(22:47) Burnout and (chronic) fatigue(25:09) Reduced curiosity, excitement, and interests(27:02) Less likely to enter flow states and reduced creativity(27:58) Competitive comparisons, shame, and isolation(29:13) Other risks(29:51) What might help(31:11) Reflect on your relationship with having impact and your conflicting motivations(32:49) Strengthen additional sources of meaning and self-worth(35:48) What about value drift?(37:25) Approach motivation vs. avoidance motivation(38:51) Obligation vs. exciting opportunity(39:20) Focusing on the positive(41:09) Focus less on yourself, compare yourself less(42:11) You want to be the least impactful person in the world(43:57) Leaning into absurdity(45:22) Accepting what we cannot change(46:31) Beware self-improvement perfectionism(46:57) Welcoming and exploring negative emotions with acceptance and curiosity(50:48) Fear and coming to terms with the possibility of having no impact(53:48) Sadness, despair, and guilt(55:22) Feeling like a failure or inadequate(58:30) Replacing self-criticism with self-compassion(01:00:32) Fully commit to rest(01:00:51) Keeping yourself busy with semi-useful tasks(01:02:08) Not committing to rest(01:03:56) It’s fine if you need more rest than others(01:04:25) Other related relevant resources(01:04:58) AcknowledgementsThe original text contained 29 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: August 23rd, 2023 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/sBJLPeYdybSCiGpGh/impact-obsession-feeling-like-you-never-do-enough-good --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.