No pain, no gain became my new mantra. As I worked well into 3am, I watched The Devil Wears Prada for the 50th time. It’s always satisfying to watch Andy hustle to get Calvin Klein skirts or the unreleased Harry Potter manuscript, and make her way from wearing a frumpy blue sweater to Chanel boots and becoming Miranda’s favored assistant. But, this time felt slightly different. Watching Miranda vulnerable in the hotel room scene and talking passively about (another) failed marriage connected with me in a way it never has before. I thought to myself: is this where “hustle culture” becomes too much?
What is hustle culture anyway? It’s basically trabajar, trabajar, trabajar. Your top priority is work and most of the hours in your day are devoted to it.
Being a hard worker is something to be proud of, so why the bad rep? It’s the burnout, mija.
It’s throwing work-life balance out of the door and defining your self-worth by what you accomplish work-wise — only.
Urban dictionary says hustle culture is “The glorification of working very long hours in hope of reaching one’s professional goals while having a disregard for their health, and relationships with loved ones.”
As first gen’s, children of immigrants, from a young age, we’re taught that work should come above anything else y that our self-worth is derived from our work or school-related accomplishments.
Aside from real-life expectations, the rise and grind hustle culture is promoted all over social media. Scrolling through the explore page can scream competition and promote unrealistic products of “the hustle”. We begin to compare ourselves to influencers and base our self worth on how close we are to either their lifestyle, salary, or even their physical looks. And while it definitely is possible to reap the rewards of being a workaholic (getting a big house, dream career, opportunity to travel, etc.), you have to consider the price you will have to pay.
Yo creo que our love for ourselves gets to a point where it becomes more and more conditional.
A HUGE disclaimer and takeaway: we respect the hustle and we encourage everyone to work hard to reach their sueños. We just want you to be aware of your boundaries and your priorities. You have to find the right balance between hustle y thriving.
So, how can you hustle without burning out?
- Connectivity does not equal availability. Advancement of communication technology changed work expectations. You’re sometimes expected to be on your devices all the time and to respond immediately to issues. Remember to schedule work time and you time.
- Make time in your schedule for mundane tasks and hobbies. You should be able to have enough energy for mundane tasks (replying to emails, errands) and non-work passions/hobbies.
- Listen to internal cues. If you feel physically and/or mentally tired, listen to your body and rest.
- Avoid phrases like “I have to” and use “I choose to” or “I can”. You will feel like you have much more control over your life, trust me.
I started to believe that the key to success is self-sacrifice. Which, realistically you DO have to make sacrifices to reach certain goals, like hard-core budgeting to buy a car or declining invitations to hangout with friends to finish your report. The point is: don’t lose yourself in the pursuit of perfection, because perfection does not exist. You are not a robot.
Hustle, but not at the expense of your mental/physical/spiritual well-being.
