As I finally look up from my laptop, I realize it’s dinnertime. Working non-stop for hours on end, my family has become quite used to me eating late, sleeping late and putting my hobbies, interests and even my friends aside so that I can achieve academic progress. Obviously, it’s very difficult to criticize oneself. Yet, the fact of the matter remains: my lifestyle is becoming close to toxic.
Hustle culture is the glorification of constantly working and the obsession with overachieving. To push ourselves beyond the threshold, to just keep at it till we reach maximum capacity. There is this urge to fulfill all your dreams and goals at dizzying speed, faster than the rest, to keep up with what you see on social media. This culture is potentially creating workaholics out of our generation without us even realizing it because of how omnipresent it is. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you to stop working hard. To achieve anything in life, it’s quite important to put in the effort, to stay determined and persistent. However, the line between burnout and healthy work attitudes is becoming blurry.
I pushed myself to learn an instrument, pick up a foreign language or meet someone online. Nothing worked for me till college started remotely in the Fall. The toil of working comforted me, made me feel like I was finally earning the nights my head hit the pillow. The burnouts came, but there was also the addictive validation of being able to work hard and say that “yes, I am doing something worthwhile.” I compromised not just quality for quantity but my mental health too. It has taken me a good amount of time to realize this is not okay.
“Two steps forward, one step back is still one step forward.” – Rosa Diaz, Brooklyn Nine-Nine