8 minute read
Glorifying the grind
When rise and shine becomes rise and grind
Success is never cheap, but when the cost outweighs the benefits, it may be time to reevaluate your strategy
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BY DANI PARRA DEL RIEGO
On the surface, the path to success seems simple: wake up, work from sunrise to sunset as hard as possible to build a desirable future, go to sleep and repeat the next day. Working people around the globe are willing to continuously sacrifice today for a better tomorrow — yet tomorrow never seems to arrive. This is hustle culture and it might just be Gen Z’s downfall.
With increasingly difficult classes and standards that seem to be rising indefinitely, the pressure to always be on one’s A-game has never been greater. Hustle culture — the idea that a person only has value if they work non-stop — has redefined success for many. Just like the definition for success has become streamlined, so has the path to reaching it. While the term is abstract and has a different meaning and value for everybody, a concerningly large number of people subscribe to the idea that success means pouring all their time into ‘work’ and no time into themselves. In a steadily more connected world, comparisons are inevitable. Social media has enabled people to set new standards for themselves — standards that require work beyond what is healthy. While someone’s ideal future can look an infinite number of ways, the archetype of a successful individual is one who attends a prestigious university where they study law or medicine to eventually work for a profitable organization. More often than not, profit takes precedence over the According to a survey conducted by the American Institute of Stress, 61% of students that seek counseling do so because they feel symptoms of anxiety that result from high expectations. Stressors such as increased workload and additional commitments only add to the already stressful task of becoming independent and learning how to thrive in a new environment, according to The Haven at College, a University of Southern California (USC) publication.
Instead of stepping back and recognizing healthy boundaries, students often continue to work hard in hopes that achievements and accolades will make up for deteriorated mental health, which has proven to be fatal in the worst cases. Hard work makes the reward even more satisfactory, but not everyone is willing, or able, to sacrifice it all. The performative aspect of hustle culture removes meaning from hard work and leaves accomplishments to be nothing but a hull of their former selves.
NO ESCAPING THE GRIND
Ambition has resulted in some of humanity’s greatest achievements. From landing the first man on the moon to the invention of life-changing technologies, the desire to improve living conditions has resulted in countless positive outcomes. The seemingly endless struggle to reach success, however, is nothing new.
Greek mythology gave us Sisyphus, the man who was condemned to spend eternity rolling a boulder up a mountain only to start over the next day. While this is an ancient example, it rings true today: sometimes, the benefits of hard work pale in comparison to the effort invested into it, especially when the work is done to satisfy others.
Hustle culture distinguishes itself from genuine ambition in that the desire to do well is intrinsic, meaning that it is an internal force, while hustle culture relies on extrinsic, or external, pressure to do well and stand out in a certain field. When driving oneself to extreme measures does more damage than good, experts emphasize the need to reevaluate strategies to be “successful.” Cortisol, the stress hormone, allows for the body to react quickly in life-or-death situations in short bursts. According to the Mayo Clinic, however, cortisol in large bursts is linked to high blood pressure, high blood glucose and even impaired formation of long-term memories.
“I believe in being the best that I can be regardless of how the public feels about me. The morals instilled in me are what drive me,” sophomore Alexis Gonzalez said.
Finding a healthy work-life balance needs to be a priority, but it has found itself at a distant second to success. The constant push to work has caused many people’s mental health to deteriorate. Various studies, conducted over the years, ranging from social experiments to well-funded researchers hired by the most prestigious universities, have concluded the same thing: grind culture kills. Students are not getting enough sleep, eight in ten college students report frequent stress, according to the American Institute of Stress and the amount of youth seeking help is growing at an alarming rate.
Yet, instead of recognizing the severity of the pressure to succeed, the constant grind and subsequent burnout is often glamorized. From hashtags such as #riseandgrind to the romanticization of the symptoms of burning-out, the idea that a person’s worth is directly correlated to the amount of work they can produce has devastating effects on society. This is seen in how working long hours is correlated with lowered productivity and creativity, according to a 2017 study published by Oxford University titled “Impact of Working Hours on Sleep and Mental Health.”
by the numbers
highlights surveyed 300 students in September 2020 regarding the effects of Grind Cluture on their daily lives.
68.7% of students feel that Grind Culture has had a negative effect on their mental health.
63.7% of students believe that Grind Culture is toxic.
70.3% of students feel excluded if they do not “succeed” due to society’s standards.
67.7% of students focus more on reaching a goal rather than enjoying the journey.
87% of students feel that there is a societal pressure to be the best.
ISSUES WITH GRIND CULTURE
Being overworked looks different for everybody. Some may live for the thrill of pulling all nighters and being committed to countless causes, while others may view this as a sign of not having reached their full potential.
One of the more prominent aspects of hustle culture is the comparison that is constantly pushed onto everyone who buys into the idea. Subscribers to this ever-growing culture are often instructed to give their 100% all the time and while putting in maximum effort is critical for a sense of success, hustle culture creates the additional pressure of making sure that one’s 100% is the same as or more than someone else’s. Comparisons breed toxic competition while raising the stakes of any failure, making hustle culture even more unhealthy.
Even within the arts, a more creative and generally relaxed field, artists are dissuaded from expressing themselves unless they reach certain standards. Youth with aspirations to pursue a creative career are often told it is not a feasible option since creative fields are statistically less profitable. Even if art is pursued as a secondary source of income, the idea that a hobby is only worth it if it is profitable results in further streamlines the definition of success and limits diversity.
“There’s a grind culture within art — how much art you need to produce and of what quality to make a living. There’s a pressure to make money off of your hobbies,” senior Malika McKenney said.
IMPORTANCE OF BALANCE
With such a complex issue that is so deeply ingrained in all parts of life, finding a way to slow down days is not an easy task.
Psychologists and lifestyle experts around the globe have been trying to find, although temporary, solutions to help deal with the stressors that come with the constant grind. While reducing workload and responsibilities is not always easy for everybody, there are small actions that can be taken to better manage the pressure to perform.
Here at Gables, the AIM after-school initiative began in 2018 and has since provided free yoga and mindfulness lessons after school for all students. Virginia Ansaldi, a former teacher at the school, and co-founder Derek Waddy have taken their mission to help students develop healthy stress-management habits to schools all over the district after they began the program at our school. AIM implements techniques from Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a movement that started in the 1970s that has since flourished. Based on seven core qualities (nonjudging, patience, beginner’s mind, trust, not striving, acceptance and letting go), the movement and related practices proactively help those who need it manage the stressors of everyday life.
Success requires a particular mindset, one that cannot be achieved with the pressure that comparison inflicts. The best way to counteract a toxic environment is to create a healthier one. Another effective way to counteract stress is to create a social support system filled with people who place ambition and the desire to succeed second to your wellbeing. Being socially integrated into a group has been directly correlated to lower rates of stress, depression and suicide, according to an article by Kendra Cherry from the Very Well Mind Psychology team.
“Grind culture has affected me by helping me to stay in a healthy state of mind and be able to improve my work ethic. If you ever need to take a break, do so. Always make sure your mental health is right before anything else,” senior Alcuris McKoy said.
Escaping the constant grind isn’t always simple, but recognizing the problem is a good starting point. Buying into hustle culture does not yield the results that it promises and it can cause irreversible damage. Instead, building safe, healthy and sustainable daily practices will lead to the very same successful life that grind culture falsely promises.
