Have you ever pulled an all-nighter to study for exams?
The hours spent writing out key terms, memorizing facts, and saying them out loud to yourself likely cost you mental energy and require you to sacrifice your sleep. You may have even gone a couple hours without eating anything thinking that you needed to prioritize studying, otherwise you’d fail.
Did you achieve your desired results? Did you feel accomplished, drained or both?
I’m sure that most of us have wanted to work hard in order to achieve our goals — it’s a very natural inclination. Studying until you’re fatigued, working until you’re completely burnt out, and getting little to no time for social activities are all considered a part of “the grind.”
Although it’s true that big dreams require effort to achieve them and hard work can get you there, just how much can a person brush off as “hard work?”
“Hustle culture” refers to the shared belief that one must work hard to excel beyond others, achieving their goals even at the cost of self-care. In hustle culture, the idea of overworking yourself is glorified and is even considered a way of determining your value in society; the more you work and the longer the hours means you are more productive and, therefore, more worthy of recognition and respect. Essentially, the more you can contribute to the economic system, the better you are.
On the other hand, taking a break is seen as a setback and something that can deter you from succeeding. Hustle culture fails to acknowledge us as human beings. The truth is that it’s impossible to function healthily without breaks. Breaks give us the rest we need in order to continue working and contribute to our overall happiness.
Without time to watch your favourite TV show, do your skincare routine before bed, socialize, and sleep in from time to time, you will crash at some point and struggle to get back up. Trust me, I’ve been there!
As much as it is formed by a capitalist system, success, as defined by hustle culture, is also rooted in ableism. “Normalcy” in this context is defined as being a “good, efficient and hard-working” worker capable of living up to superhuman worker expectations, regardless of how unrealistic they may be.
When there is a standard for productivity that involves the requirement of being “able-bodied,” we inadvertently assert that people with disabilities cannot contribute to society. It’s a toxic belief that continues to alienate people with disabilities and perpetuates the undeniably false notion that society functions better without them.
The idea that one must be tired and burnt out to prove that you’ve been productive is wrong. Hustle culture doesn’t really benefit anyone in the long run. At the end of the day, the only person who can judge your value is you. Be kind to yourself and remember that it’s you who defines your worth, and no one can take that from you.