Do you also answer with your job title when someone asks who you are or what you do in life?

You say “I’m a teacher”, “I’m a lawyer”, “I’m a project manager”.

But if I take away your LinkedIn headline, your Outlook calendar, your company badge…

What’s left — really?

That’s where it starts.

The moment you can’t answer without glitching, or overexplaining.
The moment you realize your job has shaped and invaded your identity so much… you forgot who you were before.

And it doesn’t show. You’re still functioning.

You crack jokes on Zoom, hit your deadlines, lift your team.

But you — where are you in all that?

That, too, is Max-out.

A subtle, quiet, socially approved erosion.

A slow erasure — dressed up as fulfillment, self-improvement, and performance.

A society bug.

But perfectly disguised as “positive mindset” and “personal growth”.

Want to understand what’s really going on?

It’s free and open access on Zenodo Open Science: https://zenodo.org/records/15720258