Hustling: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
“No Pain, No Gainâ€
How many times have you heard this before? A lot, mostly as a form of positive reinforcement or motivation by your friends, or family, or even in a movie or series!?
Hustling is when people work hard in a bid to achieve their idea of success, either monetary or social.? But today, young people are overworking to the point where it becomes a lifestyle, in short- hustling has become hustle culture.??
According to the dictionary, the word hustle stands for energetic action.?
Working hard to achieve what we want from our life is, no doubt, a positive virtue.
Elon Musk said, “Nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week.†This may be motivational to some people & lead people to work harder & help in their progress.?
Working hard in the right environment can help you achieve more goals (Promotions, higher increments) than you had planned, leading to a better outcome in your professional life.
The problem with hustle culture is it imparts the wrong approach to youngsters.
- Working hard vs Overworking: Working hard & overworking has a very thin line separating them. This slippery slope can easily be muddled leading to people’s outlook on how much work is working hard to change. This confusion leads to youngsters overworking instead of just working hard & leads them to become exhausted. The exhausted body is stressed easily & leads to unhealthy mental health.
- Quantity over Quality: While hustling may be praised by people around you, especially influencers- the problem is hard work cannot be equated with success. If you’re working 60 hours a week for a project you’re not interested in, the result will not be a success. Doing something you really like for 20 hours a week can be more productive than the former situation.?
- Leads to Breakdown: Whether hustling leads to success or not is a different story, but what it will definitely lead to is taking a toll on your body- both physically & mentally. Sipping coffee at midnight to complete those extra tasks is something not unheard of, but what it does to the body & mind is. Losing interest in your hobbies, skipping self-care, ignoring socializing, & getting burnt out.?
Overcoming Hustle Culture:-
- Slow Down: Hustling is unhealthy & the first step to overcome it is by slowing down & instead of overworking yourself, planning the days of your week in a way that maximizes productivity while also giving yourself some me-time.
- Focus on You & Your Personal Goals: Your professional goals aren’t going to be running away if you decide to slow down & prioritize your personal goals. Learned to play an instrument but can’t play/practice because of hustling? Try to get some me-time. Start setting time aside for yourself where you keep in touch with your hobbies, catch up with friends & family, & watch that show you have on your watchlist from who knows when!
Stop Glorifying the hustle culture - it’s easier than it seems: create a clear line between productivity & over-working, balancing both your personal life & work. When you’re feeling overworked or stressed out, take a break, refresh your mind, & don’t get stuck in the chain of negative thoughts!