DPS is just a number - or is it?

If there is a 12-step group for dps meter addiction, I think I need one. I always run one in the background, although the only thing I really look at with the druid is if I'm keeping up with the dispels, because not abolishing poison or removing curses is the main way to wipe on some fights. The warlock is another story. Recount is set to autohide on combat so it doesn't distract me, but I am constantly looking at it between fights, and almost always check what I do after a boss fight.
I didn't used to be this way. I could be content to come in, do my job, and get out without feeling a need to do at least 2.5k dps overall. I avoided the dps meter like I avoid walking through places that are slippery or cluttered. What's changed?
I think one thing that is different is how much I enjoy raiding. Another is that, although the officers are very quick to let me know that they value me for more than my dps, I want to bring the pain. The third thing is extremely dysfunctional, and it cuts to the core of my experiences over the past 3 years. I am rough on myself because, in my own way, I am protecting myself from rejection. I'm determined that no one is going to put me down the way a couple of former GM's (emphasis on the former) did.
The reality is that dps is important. Is it important for me to always be able to do at least 3k dps? Not in the current content. When people look at the damage meter and see what I'm doing, what do they think? I don't know, but y'all are welcome to tell me (shameless hint). Is this constant chasing higher and higher dps healthy, or does it cause us to lose who we are? The truth is, there is a finite amount of damage you can do to a boss, especially if you are very successful. A typical player will be able to hit a mob faster and more often than me, so I will not do as much damage, which affects dps.
I decided to write the post to sort of be a devil's advocate, and also to solicit feedback. Is there a magic number? What do you think when you look at recount?