AWC Essay 02: The Pressure to Achieve
Pressure Test
July 2026
Sometimes I wonder whether achievement has become the modern version of happiness.
Not happiness itself. Just the thing we believe will eventually lead us there.
For as long as I can remember, life has felt like a series of milestones.
Get good grades. Get into university. Find a career. Earn more money. Buy a house. Build something successful.
There is always a next step waiting for us.
And while goals can give us direction, I sometimes wonder what happens when our entire sense of worth becomes attached to reaching them.
We live in a world that celebrates achievement.
Research from OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) shows that many young people are not dealing with just one source of pressure, but several at the same time, from education and money to social media and uncertainty about the future.
We are constantly surrounded by other’s people’s achievements. Every day we are exposed to promotions, business launches, graduations, engagements, house purchases and success stories. Social media has made it easier than ever to witness the highlights of other people's lives.
The problem is not that people are succeeding.
The problem is that constant exposure to success can make us question our own progress.
Am I doing enough? Am I falling behind? Should I be further ahead by now?
These questions appeared repeatedly throughout the research of “AWC PhD”.
When participants were asked whether they ever felt behind compared to others, many answered yes.
Some spoke about careers. Others spoke about relationships. Others spoke about finances, housing or life milestones.
What struck me was that the details were different, but the feeling was often the same.
One participant reflected on how social media makes it easy to compare ourselves to polished versions of other people's lives.
Another simply said:
"It feels like everyone is doing something."
I think many people understand that feeling.
The strange thing is that when participants were later asked what a meaningful life looked like to them, very few mentioned status, wealth or achievement.
Instead they talked about family. Connection. Purpose. Helping others. Inner peace.
The things people said they wanted most were often different from the things they felt pressured to pursue.
That contradiction stayed with me.
If a meaningful life is not defined by achievement alone, why do so many of us judge ourselves through that lens?
Perhaps achievement is not the problem.
Perhaps the problem is believing that our value depends on it.
This essay is not an argument against ambition.
It is an invitation to question the stories we tell ourselves about success.
How much of our ambition comes from what we genuinely want?
How much comes from comparison?
And if we removed the pressure to constantly achieve, what would we choose to pursue instead?
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References
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Always Working Clothing 5 month Research (AWC PhD)
