Today's @dealbook has an important discussion about the culture of overwork and how, for example, students at the beginning of college or grad school say they don't want to go into banking/consulting but get sucked in. Why? Having been programmed to compete and win - and fear. /1

This deeply resonates with me. Even if you don't *want* it, competing against those whom you perceived to be the best and brightest and *winning* by landing such a job is insanely satisfying. It's like a Pavlovian response to just another challenge on the road to adulthood. /2

It also allows you to feel good without actually having to think deeply, figure out what it is you really want to do and, if that job/pursuit lacks the "status" of a "prestige" job, do you have the esteem to feel great about it while your banker/consulting buddies rake in $? /3

It takes a lot of self-awareness, self-confidence and esteem as a young adult to make these kinds of decisions, especially when one path is clearly sanctioned by society, peers and often family, while the other can feel more challenging, more scary and less subject to approval /4

What do I know? I'm just a 55 year old guy making some observations. But seeing my children, who are in their early 20s, and their friends contending with these life decisions and seeing how hard it is to shun the competition for the glam-jobs makes this all too real. /5

You know what could change this cycle of overwork and pursuit of "elite" jobs for the sake of getting them? Better early education that reinforces efforts and explorations, not merely achievements, and for those already in the maw of competition's clutches: therapy. /6

Much as we'd like to believe the cultures of prestige IBs/consulting firms will change, they won't. In systems where the objective function is money and status, competitive people will always, ALWAYS drive to make the most/gather the most prestige. It's hard-wired. /7

So as with so many problems, be it prevention in health care, early childhood education, etc., the only way to solve this problem is to raise a generation of young people focused on being their true selves and proud of how this connects with their careers. It's a worthy mission.