365: Hustle Culture, Burnout, and the Evolution of Self Esteem

Aug 22, 2025

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Evolutionary psychologist, Doug Lisle, PhD discusses listener questions with co-host, Nathan Gershfeld.

0:00 Teaser Clips & Intro

02:56 Q1: Do we call people lazy to excuse ourselves or to change them?

12:42 Q2:If goals bring esteem, why so much burnout?

28:20 Who gets burned out most often?

44:44 Evolution of Self esteem

1:10:20 Final thoughts

Q1: Is the attribution of 'laziness' to others a form of self-deception by people high in conscientiousness to justify lowering our empathy to others? After all no one chooses their personality, some people are naturally less conscientious than others. Or, does our nervous system get irritated so that we signal our anger to lazy people so they change their CBA of their behaviour?

Q2: I have a question about self-esteem and building long-term happiness through the meaningful pursuit of achievable goals, which I’ve heard Doug discuss, and how it relates to burnout/feeling overwhelmed and therefore unhappy with life in the modern world. If this really is the “formula” for happiness, why do so many people today end up burnt out or overextended in their pursuit of achievement, constantly striving for more? In Europe, where I live, there’s a stronger cultural focus on slow living and enjoying simple pleasures, with less emphasis on wealth and material success. People here seem happier in general. Are they just pursuing more “realistic” goals? That are perhaps unrelated to building wealth? In the U.S., why does goal achievement so often seem to come with unhappiness, burnout, and exhaustion? If it is true that the only way to truly have self esteem is the meaningful pursuit of achievable goals, can you be happy if you ate NOT intentionally trying to better yourself or make yourself more competitive?

X: @BeatYourGenes

Web: www.beatyourgenes.org

Doug Lisle, PhD www.esteemdynamics.com

Nathan Gershfeld, DC www.fastingescape.com

Intro & outro song: City of Happy Ones • Ferenc Hegedus Licensed for use