Wake up, get shit done, repeat

I had this sticker on my laptop for months before I took some time to reflect on the meaning behind it. The sticker got me thinking about why people glorified hustle culture. Is life all about 'getting shit done'?

When you look back at your youth, I'm pretty sure your 50-year-old self would prefer seeing fond memories than nights of 'hustling' that took you nowhere but Starbucks. People glorify hustle culture but little do they know that it is a fast road to burnout.

Everyone has their own meaning of hustling, but Urban Dictionary defines it as "the glorification of working very long hours in hope of reaching one's professional goals". Disillusioned by Instagram quotes, people are now thinking productivity is the same as hustling. They are the POLAR OPPOSITES of work efficiency.

The “rise-and-grind culture”, especially on social media, normalised working harder, faster, and longer. I've seen way too many people who think working for long hours is the same as being productive. Being busy doesn't mean that you are being effective. 

Don't get me wrong, working hard is vital. But we can't expect our life to improve just by clocking in more hours.  I've been there too - studying all night, thriving on caffeine without even knowing the reason. Was I actually being productive? Or, was I keeping myself busy for the sake of feeling like I was doing a good job? 

The idea that if you don’t work to the point of exhaustion, you don’t want it enough is TOXIC. We glorify hustle culture so much that we've reached the point where we feel guilty for taking breaks. I think our guilt is mostly rooted in fear. The fear of falling behind, the fear of being unsuccessful, the fear of not being ENOUGH. 

Do you ever feel empty? The feeling that something is missing even though you are sufficient? This void that we keep trying to avoid is inevitable, we will have to answer it someday - the big WHY. Why are you hustling in the first place? The harsh reality is that you are giving your 110% for nothing.

Ironic to "one step forward and three steps back", sometimes you have to take one step back to move three steps forward. We hustle too much that it is killing our productivity. We are not like the machines which we have built. At the end of the day, we are human after all. When you feel the rush, slow down and ask "What am I actually working towards?" While hard work can certainly reap benefits, there is no wrong in taking time to appreciate the little things. You know you are truly happy when you feel and relish every single sip of your morning coffee :)