"We are aiming for a place where we can decouple the scorecard from our worthiness. It’s of course the case that in trying to optimise the good, we will always be falling short. The question is how much, and in what ways are we not there yet? And if we then extrapolate that to how much and in what ways am I not enough, that’s where we run into trouble." —Hannah Boettcher

What happens when your desire to do good starts to undermine your own wellbeing?

Over the years, we’ve heard from therapists, charity directors, researchers, psychologists, and career advisors — all wrestling with how to do good without falling apart. Today’s episode brings together insights from 16 past guests on the emotional and psychological costs of pursuing a high-impact career to improve the world — and how to best navigate the all-too-common guilt, burnout, perfectionism, and imposter syndrome along the way.

Check out the full transcript and links to learn more.

You’ll hear from:

80,000 Hours’ former CEO on managing anxiety, self-doubt, and a chronic sense of falling short (from episode #100)
Randy Nesse on why we evolved to be anxious and depressed (episode #179)
Hannah Boettcher on how ‘optimisation framing’ can quietly distort our sense of self-worth (from our 80k After Hours feed)
Luisa Rodriguez on grieving the gap between who you are and who you wish you were (from our 80k After Hours feed)
Cameron Meyer Shorb on how guilt and shame became his biggest source of suffering — and what helped (episode #210)
Tim LeBon on the trap of moral perfectionism, and why we should strive for excellence instead (episode #149)
Cal Newport on why we need to make time to be alone with our thoughts (episode #106)
Michelle Hutchinson and Habiba Islam on when to prioritise wellbeing over impact (episode #122)
Sarah Eustis-Guthrie on the emotional weight of founding a charity (episode #207)
Hannah Ritchie on feeling like an imposter, even after writing a book and giving a TED Talk (episode #160)
Will MacAskill on why he’s five to 10 times happier than he used to be after learning to work in a way that’s genuinely sustainable (episode #130)
Ajeya Cotra on handling the pressure of high-stakes research (episode #90)
Christian Ruhl on pursuing a high-impact career while managing a stutter (from our 80k After Hours feed)
Leah Garcés on insisting on self-care when witnessing trauma regularly (episode #99)
Kelsey Piper on recognising that you’re not alone in your struggles (episode #53)

And if you’re dealing with your own mental health concerns, here are some resources that might help:

If you’re feeling at risk, try this for the the UK: How to get help in a crisis, and this for the US: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
The UK’s National Health Service publishes useful, evidence-based advice on treatments for most conditions.
Mental Health Navigator is a service that simplifies finding and accessing mental health information and resources all over the world — built specifically for the effective altruism community
We recommend this summary of treatments for depression, this summary of treatments for anxiety, and Mind Ease, an app created by Spencer Greenberg.
We’d also recommend It’s Not Always Depression by Hilary Hendel.
Some on our team have found Overcoming Perfectionism and Overcoming Low Self-Esteem very helpful.
And there’s even more resources listed on these episode pages: Having a successful career with depression, anxiety, and imposter syndrome, Hannah Boettcher on the mental health challenges that come with trying to have a big impact, Tim LeBon on how altruistic perfectionism is self-defeating.

Chapters:

Cold open (00:00:00)
Luisa's intro (00:01:32)
80,000 Hours’ former CEO Howie on what his anxiety and self-doubt feels like (00:03:47)
Evolutionary psychiatrist Randy Nesse on what emotions are for (00:07:35)
Therapist Hannah Boettcher on how striving for impact can affect our self-worth (00:13:45)
Luisa Rodriguez on grieving the gap between who you are and who you wish you were (00:16:57)
Charity director Cameron Meyer Shorb on managing work-related guilt and shame (00:24:01)
Therapist Tim LeBon on aiming for excellence rather than perfection (00:29:18)
Author Cal Newport on making time to be alone with our thoughts (00:36:03)
80,000 Hours career advisors Michelle Hutchinson and Habiba Islam on prioritising mental health over career impact (00:40:28)
Charity founder Sarah Eustis-Guthrie on the ups and downs of founding an organisation (00:45:52)
Our World in Data researcher Hannah Ritchie on feeling like an imposter as a generalist (00:51:28)
Moral p...

Guilt, imposter syndrome & doing good: 16 past guests share their mental health journeys

80,000 Hours Podcast