Having a few goals is one thing. Always trying to re-invent your life, or your identity, is another. That is the primary language around these “lock-in” or other productivity challenges. We are being told that our current selves—our current identities—are perpetually in need of re-invention, and if we aren’t spending every moment of our lives committed to fixing ourselves, we are not only behind, but essentially useless. And for that, we should feel ashamed.

America has defined itself as a country based on a race-based hierarchy that, through almost every structure, law, ordinance, and standard set by elite white men, is reinforced by class, education, land ownership, gender, and even beauty. Desperate to maintain the supremacy of whiteness, (specifically male-dominated whiteness), America provided handouts to white men, restricted access to everyone else, and told the lie that the success the white men experienced was solely based on meritocracy.