Achievement Addiction

Are you an achievement addict? In today's fast-paced, results-driven society, it's hard not to be.

We're constantly bombarded with messages that equate success with self-worth, and the pressure to "make it" infiltrates nearly every part of life. For students, the ATAR can feel like a defining number, reducing years of learning, growth, and effort into a single figure that seems to determine their future - and even their identity. But the addiction to achievement doesn't stop there.

Australia's obsession with winning extends beyond sports, bleeding into the property market, where owning a home is seen not just as security, but as a status symbol. Skyrocketing house prices reflect our cultural fixation on material success. In other corners of the world, Silicon Valley glorifies relentless work ethics, while tiger parents and prodigies embody the belief that extraordinary effort is the only path to worthiness.

We strive to stand out, to be remembered - but at what cost? Is our pursuit of success actually bringing us fulfillment, or are we just chasing approval and validation? Could you walk away from the constant need to achieve - or has it already become too much a part of who you are? Why do we constantly strive for our significance - and could you quit the habit if you tried?