The Need to Succeed

Lecture by philosopher Thijs Lijster

“Hard Work Pays Off”, “You Snooze, you lose” or “Quitters never win, Winners never Quit”. Nowadays, inspirational quotes like these follow you around wherever you look. From ‘crypto-bros’ to entrepreneurs like Gary Vaynerchuck, being on the grind seems to be all the rage. But why do we want to work on ourselves this much? Is success really a matter of hard work or does luck also play a role? And does it make you a loser if you do not succeed?

Burnouts, anxiety, and loneliness are skyrocketing among young people. It almost seems that you are a loser if you fail, and that this is always your own fault. In the lecture The Need to Succeed Dr. Thijs Lijster will explain where the need to succeed comes from, and whether it is realistic. He couples this development to the rise of individualism in the last decades. And while it may seem that a lot of people are thriving under these circumstances, the effects of this development are not only positive. Why do we focus so much on ourselves, and can we learn to focus more on each other? In this lecture, Thijs Lijster answers these questions.

The Need to Succeed (livestream)

Speaker
Dr. Thijs Lijster
Dr. Thijs Lijster is Assistant Professor of Philosophy of Art and Culture at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. He wrote multiple books on philosophy, culture and the arts. In 2016 he published the book ‘De Grote Vlucht Inwaarts’ (The Great Leap Inwards) about the rise of individualism in the Western World, and in 2019 the book ‘Verenigt U!’ (Unite!) about the need to unite and come together.
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