Our country is the poster child for individualism. As a society, we are geared toward equipping and uplifting individuals. We are focused on excelling independently and succeeding personally. We are dead-set on climbing the ladder, racing to the finish line and achieving our dreams.

This is one of the characteristics that makes the United States so unique. Constantly, we are encouraged to shoot for the stars and be the best we can be. Sometimes, however, I wonder if this is an internally flawed goal. To be considered the best we can be, do we actually need to be any of the positive traits we are told to cherish?

You see, we are told to value honesty, integrity, kindness, sincerity, diligence, patience and peacefulness. Yet, we are taught to cling to cunningness, flexibility, ambition, haste, sharp-tongued vocabularies, quick thinking and confrontational attitudes. We are told to be first in our class but then forced to wade through waves of cheating, dishonesty and desperation to do so. We are told to be kind to everyone but then find ourselves in a puddle of shallow approval. We are told to work diligently and be patient but then are reminded that “the early bird gets the worm.”

How can all of these qualities exist simultaneously? How can a human possibly navigate the ever-conflicting demands of a bipolar society? I’m not sure we can.

We often find that the United States has the highest frequency of diagnosed cases of depression and anxiety, second only to India and China, according to U.S. News. What does this tell us about our culture?

Now, considering I was born and raised stateside, I can only evaluate India and China from the perspective of an educated outsider. Within the broad culture of these separate countries, exceptional performance-based results are demanded, and society is largely driven by the fickle force that declares or destroys one’s honor.

Therefore, it makes sense that the elevated expectation for near perfection in these two countries would emphasize the inevitable imperfection that results from one’s humanity, leaving the citizens of these countries in a compromised mindset.

Essentially, while someone is being told he must be the best he can be, the pressure of this demand essentially counteracts his effort to succeed.

We see this in America, too. I’m going to join the crowd of analysts who are studying this matter by citing a rather trite example: the college student.

What might most of us give or hear as a reasoning for why college students are often found drunk on a Friday night? I would venture to guess it is because students believe, after a long and taxing week of work, such a finale seems only reasonable.

So, what this situation essentially exemplifies is how our perilous and unrelenting drive can push us to a point of mental anguish. Some may “recover” from such a state by drinking. Some may try to “recover” by antisocially staying in bed all weekend. Some may try to “recover” by resigning to the temptation of cheating.

Regardless, I believe that our society’s damaging insistence on excellence is destroying the very greatness it strives to produce. And, while this might appear to simply be a struggle that is randomly scattered throughout our population, I believe it afflicts each and every one of us to varying degrees.

Do we know how affected we are by our environment, by our culture? Do we understand that the social anxiety that seizes our hearts or the depression that numbs our minds is a symptom of being in a success-obsessed, individualistic, over-stimulated society? I don’t think we do. I think we are blindly drudging along in this ambitious culture, waiting for the day when a nap doesn’t mean we’re lazy and doing something recreational isn’t seen as a waste of time.

I promise, I am hardly the United States’ largest critic. In fact, I am often caught singing our great country’s praises. However, I feel burdened by the reality that we are all deeply engrossed in a cycle of structurally perpetuated inadequacy.