What is Hustle Culture?

 

Hustle culture is essentially a life philosophy that is based on the idea of constantly working. It emphasizes the idea that there is always more to do, a new achievement to earn, a new height to reach, more money to be earned, or more work to be done. Hustle culture is all about the grind to the extent that nothing else is important.

 

Is it Similar to being a Workaholic?

 

Hustle culture is very similar to the idea of being a “workaholic”, with a few differences. Someone that is described as a workaholic is usually someone that works a lot and likes it. It is also a title given by other people, usually implying something negative. For example, a friend might say, “Jim, go home to your family, you’re always the first in and last out, i’m concerned about you becoming a workaholic.” Or a wife may yell at her husband, “You’re a workaholic Jim. You should be prioritizing your family.” A workaholic may like working, but they do not claim that work is the greatest good. A workaholic can understand that other people live their lives in a different way.

In contrast, hustle culture is usually self-proclaimed, is believed by the person claiming it to be the highest good, and they reject that anyone can or should live their lives differently. It simply comes down to this: if you’re not hustling, you’re a failure. To make it clear, here are some of statements that you may hear someone in the movement say.

 

Common Sayings Among Hustle Culture

 

• Don’t watch TV. Go work instead.
• A real man grinds no matter what.
• Do you want a better life? Get back to work.
• If you don’t have 100 million dollars, you’re lazy.
• You’ll never build your dream life working 5 days a week.
• If you don’t work seven days a week, are you even human?
• Not a single excuse exists for why you can’t run 10 miles daily.

 

Story Time

 

I do a lot; I produce a lot. I produce more than the average creator over multiple platforms and businesses. Also, I run networks and communities. However, I am also a family man. I have children and a wife. One day, I was finishing up my work and I said goodnight to the people I was talking to in one of my communities. I said, I was going to spend the evening with my kids and watch a TV show with them before reading them a story and putting them to sleep.

This person that just joined the community chimed in and told me that I would never be successful if I watched TV with my kids. He said that I should be hustling and focus on building a business. This is HC movement we are talking about.

 

 

Why is Hustle Culture so Popular Recently?

 

Very few people, even those self-proclaimed hustlers, can live up to the expectations of hustle culture over long periods of time. Even then, many of the people preaching this don’t live up to the expectations of hustle culture at all. So, why do so many people push this philosophy?

I believe that most people have good intentions most of the time, but people are often misguided. In this case, I believe that hustle culture comes from a good place with good intentions. I believe that the people that push hustle culture believe that hustling is how you improve your life and they desire to help other people improve their lives also. It’s a form of motivation. If you can adopt the hustle culture mentality, it is motivating. However, for those that are not part of hustle culture, it’s extremely insulting. Hustle culture often relies on vulgar language and insults to attempt to motivate others to take action. They are not wrong, action is a key ingredient to become successful. However, this approach to motivation has issues.

 

The False Assumption

 

There is a false assumption that people make when they use hustle culture to motivate others. The false assumption is, everyone wants to live the same life you want to live. The hustle world view assumes that everyone wants to be a rich, healthy, business owner/influencer, with luxury and endless friends. However, this is far from the truth. Every person has unique ideas and feelings about how to live life. Some people want a simple life. Other’s want to be in nature. Some want to focus on learning. Other’s want to be social. Only some people want a successful life. So, by assuming that everyone wants to be successful, hustle culture is already wrong.

 

Negative Motivation Leaning Toward Abuse

 

Hustle Culture makes another assumption that is incorrect. The hustle people assumes that everyone is motivated through negativity. The people that motivate other’s through hustle culture almost always rely on tactics that would be considered aggressive and abusive. You will often find hustle culture being emphasized with vulgar language and insults. They think that by yelling at you, cussing at you, and insulting what you do or who you are, you’re more likely to take action. Although, this is beyond the scope of this article, this is not how people are motivated the best. Most people are motivated more through love and encouragement than they are by attacks. They are also motivated for good reasons rather than bad reasons. Revenge or showing someone wrong is negative.

 

Dangerous Advice

 

This entire mentality hates excuses. They won’t accept it. Excuses are pitiful in the eyes of hustle culture. In addition, it is all about pushing limits and boundaries. Hustle culture believes you should always be leveling up. What they don’t realize is that this can become dangerous. Some things take time to level up. What’s coming to mind right now is physical activity. In the wrong hands, this movement can lead to over training and injury. Then, if you get injured, that’s an excuse. Hustle culture disregards human limits. Why? Because hustle culture believes that more work is always better. Hustle culture largely disregards relaxation, rest, and taking breaks.

 

If Not Hustle Culture, Then What?

 

Balance is key. Hustling is extremely important. I am not saying that you should not take massive action and hustle as much as you can. However, balance is key. Rest, relaxation, and taking breaks is extremely important for the human body and mind. These are not evil, they are important. Balance is key. It is essential for you to take various aspects of you life and learn how to balance them. Hustle, but also spend time with friends. Balance is key. Hustle, but also find time for entertainment. I promise you that a balanced life will bring you joy.

Now, also understand that there will be times in your life when you are unbalanced. This is fine. You can hustle for a period of time and accomplish a lot. This is excellent. However, eventually you’ll need to return to a balanced life. You also need to understand that your assumptions about how other people should live are incorrect. Let them live their lives as balanced or unbalanced as they want. If they love comfort, let them search for comfort. If they love hustle, then let them hustle. You can encourage people without using hustle culture to attack them.

 

 

Resources

 

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