“A…silent assumption that leads to anxiety and depression is ‘My worth as a human being is proportional to what I have achieved in my life.’ This attitude is at the core of Western culture and the Protestant work ethic. It sounds innocent enough. In fact, it is self-defeating, grossly inaccurate, and misleading.” -from Feeling Good by David D. Burns, MD
This is related to alkjash’s “pain is not the unit of effort”.
It’s important to me to spend my life doing good work. But basing my self-esteem on this isn’t useful.