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Acid trip Quote by Eleanor Catton

“Every little thing now has to be about maximising your potential, and perfecting yourself, and honing yourself, and getting the best deal out of your life, and out of your body, and out of your precious fucking time. Everything’s a corporate retreat now. Everything has utility . You want to get…” quote by Eleanor Catton
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““Every little thing now has to be about maximising your potential, and perfecting yourself, and honing yourself, and getting the best deal out of your life, and out of your body, and out of your precious fucking time. Everything’s a corporate retreat now. Everything has utility . You want to get fucked up and just escape your own existence for once, just check out of your life for a while, like every other human being who has ever lived? No. Even a fucking acid trip has to be a means to an end. It has to be about team-building. It has to be about trust and wellness and creativity. It has to be about your authentic journey towards physical and psychological perfection. It has to be about you asserting the integrity of your choice to do it in the first place. It can’t be a lapse of judgment. There are no lapses of judgment. It can’t be wrong . There are no wrongs. There’s just choice, and choice is neutral, and we’re neutral, and everything is neutral, and everything’s a game, and if you want to win the game then you’re going to have to optimise yourself, and actualise yourself, and utilise yourself, and get the edge, and God forbid that you should have an actual human experience of frailty, or mortality, or limitation, or humanity, or of the fucking onward march of time--those are just distractions, those are obstacles, they’re defects, they’re inconveniences in the face of our curated, bespoke, freely fucking chosen authentic existence, and sure, we can never quite decide if we’re the consumers of our lives or the products of them, but there’s one thing we are damn sure of, which is that nobody on earth has any right to pass any judgment on us, either way. Freedom in the marketplace! It’s the only thing that matters! It’s the only thing that exists !””

Eleanor Catton

About This Quote

Source Novel: The Luminaries, 2013 (excerpt)

The passage critiques the modern obsession with optimizing every aspect of life, arguing that this mindset turns even escapism into another productivity tool, eroding genuine human experience.

In simple terms: Constant self‑optimization turns all actions into work, stripping away authentic living.

Key Takeaway

Question the need for endless self‑improvement.

Themes

productivity self‑optimization authenticity freedom consumerism

Mood

critical contemplative

Type

sociopolitical motivational

When to use this quote

  • career planning
  • wellness retreats
  • personal development
  • mindful living

Key Concepts

existentialism capitalist critique psychology of perfection

Questions to Reflect On

  • Do you feel pressured to constantly improve?
  • How can you allow space for imperfection?
A Different Perspective

It may ignore the benefits of self‑improvement and the nuance of personal choice.

4.3 out of 5 (9 ratings)

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