The expectations we put upon ourselves or are put on us can be higher than what we can achieve - being moderately well off and intelligent in the richest country in the world makes it very easy to be a disappointment to yourself or others, despite whatever success you may feel - it will never ever be enough.<p>This is keeping up with the joneses, just instead of the shiny new TV its a more ephemeral &quot;life experiences&quot; and success. Now, with the internet you&#x27;re not even competing against your neighbor, you&#x27;re competing against the world. Guess what - the world is always doing something more interesting, being more successful, having more fun than what you&#x27;re doing. HN in particular exacerbates this issue. For some reading about successes is inspiring - for others it just shows them how far of a gap they have to go.