Societal Factors Leading to a Burnt-Out Nation 

Did you know that over half of Americans can’t afford an unexpected $500 expense?

It’s scary to think that even in America, the richest country in the world, the majority of us are living paycheck to paycheck, but that is the unfortunate reality of our society right now.

The truth is, until just recently, real wages have been stagnant for about 40 years. And even though wages have gone up in recent years, so has inflation.

We live in a society where both parents now commonly work. We’re prolonging buying homes, getting married, or having kids largely due to financial insecurity or cost. Indeed, the average college graduate now comes out with $38,000 in student loan debt.

No wonder we’re all burnt out and stressed!

But that’s perhaps not even the worst part…

Did you know that people struggling with financial insecurity test 13 IQ points lower than those with financial security?

Though we usually think of IQ as a static, non-moving variable, that actually isn’t the case.

There was a study done with farmers that proved this. Basically, researchers gave farmers an IQ right before harvest- a time when farmers are their poorest and most stressed. Then, they gave the farmers another IQ test, post harvest- a time when farmers have a mindset of abundance and security rather than stress and scarcity. In this case, their IQ rose 13 points due to the change in conditions.

The moral of the story is this: If the majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, we are losing a ton of human potential.

If we want to really combat burnout, a change in initial conditions- moving our society from a structure and mindset of scarcity to a structure and mindset of abundance can make all the difference.