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Showing posts from September 17, 2025

The Great Self-Help Reckoning: Professionals Push Back Against Toxic Productivity

By:  Mark Taylor SAN DIEGO — In the gleaming corporate towers of America and the quiet hum of home offices, a subtle rebellion is brewing. It’s a pushback not against work itself, but against the relentless, often shame-fueled industry of "self-improvement" that has defined professional ambition for a generation. For years, the prescription for career advancement has been a cocktail of stoic maxims, productivity hacks, and the unwavering belief that one’s current self is simply not enough. Dale Carnegie’s foundational 1936 text, How to Win Friends and Influence People, has given way to a multi-billion-dollar industry that champions 5 AM wake-up calls, bio-hacking, and the gospel of "hustle culture." But for a growing number of college-educated professionals aged 25 to 45, the promised returns on this investment—unshakeable confidence and effortless influence—have failed to materialize. Instead, they report rising rates of burnout, anxiety, and a persistent feeling ...