Mortality In a Culture of Self-Optimization
Part 1 of the Lenten Series: The Season We'd Rather Skip
We are living in the golden age of self-improvement. And I don’t just mean the gym memberships and the meal prep containers, although those are part of it. I mean the entire ecosystem that has been built around the idea that you are a project. You are something to be optimized. There is a better version of you out there and if you just read the right book, follow the right routine, wake up early enough, journal with enough intention, meditate for the right number of minutes, and align your habits with your goals then you will finally arrive at the version of yourself that is worthy of love and admiration and success.
Do me a favor. Open your phone right now and count the apps designed to make you a better you. Fitness trackers. Habit builders. Sleep optimizers. Mood journals. Productivity systems. We have turned the human experience into a never-ending renovation project and we are both the contractor and the house. The message is everywhere and it is …
