Summary

The article defends the concept of positive workaholism and the hustle culture, advocating for high-intensity work and continuous productivity as a means to personal growth and fulfillment, especially during challenging times like the pandemic.

Abstract

The author, Bobby, identifies as a workaholic and argues that this lifestyle has been beneficial, particularly during the pandemic, by increasing enthusiasm for work and college and providing a sense of progress. Emphasizing that action and passion outweigh the need for talent or intelligence, Bobby suggests that a high-intensity approach to work can lead to the highest form of personal achievement. The article posits that staying active and productive prevents negative thoughts and the sense of idleness that can lead to stagnation. Bobby reflects on the importance of using time wisely as a young person and the need to persevere through life's challenges without being distracted by others' paths. Positive workaholism is differentiated from negative burnout by its sustainable intensity and the refusal to stop, even when facing hardships. The author also criticizes the overemphasis on self-love and the tendency to use mental health as an excuse for complacency, advocating instead for constructive criticism as a catalyst for self-improvement and growth.

Opinions

Society's negative view of workaholics is unfounded; being a workaholic can be a positive coping strategy during difficult times.
Productivity and high-intensity work are seen as the highest rush and a key to personal development.
An idle mind can lead to negative thoughts and is likened to the devil's workshop; staying busy is a way to avoid this.
The author values action and passion over natural talent or intelligence, believing that hard work is the true key to success.

Positive Workaholism.

In Defence of Hustle Culture.

I’ll admit it, workaholic, Bobby is the best form of Bobby there is, society has a problem with workaholics but, I don’t see why. We’re stuck in a Pandemic and to be honest, burying myself under work is the best strategy to cope with lockdown positively.

Ever since I have started to adopt this workaholic lifestyle, my enthusiasm for work and college has increased, and it feels like I am going somewhere with my life.

Action Cures All.

You don’t have to be talented or intelligent, but what I do believe is that you have to be willing to work with high intensity and passion for what you love to do. For most of my life, I have been the intelligent kid that doesn’t push himself beyond 95% and nowadays, ever since I’ve been getting up at 3 in the morning, I have been pushing myself, productivity is the highest rush that one can achieve.

The human mind tends to go back to negative thoughts and feelings, it almost always happens when we’re idle, and still, as they say, an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.

We’ve all been idle, to be honest, 2020 hasn’t been an idyllic bliss for any of us, on the contrary, it’s been this slow-burning trip to Boresville. It’s the reason why I got on here, to cure my boredom and to use this to fund my way through the university which is a year and a half away.

As a young person in today’s world, I’ve learnt to be cautious with my time, whilst it is easier to mess about with time, I have learnt to love the struggle that comes with slowly embracing adulthood and using my time wisely.

You have to Keep Going.

The majority are feeling the walls to understanding what life is, or we’re drinking our sorrows away. So far, I don’t think that’s the way life works, and on the other hand, you have to dive in and flap your hands about until you learn to swim.

True story, that’s how I learnt to swim. Picture this, a 3rd grader swimming like no tomorrow, not going anywhere and suddenly boom! I smack the back of my head into a wall, and the race is over, I won. That’s the first win of my life that I can clearly remember.

There’s an important lesson hidden in that story. You have to keep going. I think workaholics, hustler’s and GaryVee types fulfil that troupe of people who aren’t bothered about what the other person is doing, they care about what they’re doing.

We’re on a highway called life, and there are loads of other people in their cars driving to wherever. If we start looking at another guys car, which would mean that we took our eyes off the road, we’ll crash. Don’t worry about the other person. Put the gas pedal down and go as fast as you can.

Positive Workaholism isn’t about Burning Out.

Negative workaholism is all about burning out, you put your foot on the gas pedal and you don’t stop until your engine catches on fire, positive workaholism is the ability to go from 6th gear back to 4th and up to 5th without stopping.

You can decrease the intensity, but you can’t stop.

Stopping is the worst thing you can do, and contrary to popular opinion, self-love is overrated. The things that you do during self-love, eg. comfort food and watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S is unhelpful, pushing yourself during hard times may destroy you, but in the process a new you will be created.

If I look back at 2019, I was an idiot, and I cringe every year I look back, most people attribute this to grow, but I can’t be asked to bother about the person I was last year, it stupid and a waste of my time.

There’s a time and place to reminisce but there’s no point in reminiscing until I’m 70, at the age of 18, there’s no fucks to give to the past. Being a positive workaholic means acknowledging that you can’t rest on your past laurels, rather you have to look at the future and see what you can achieve.

Constructive Criticism is Far More Valuable than a Compliment.

Compliments have a way of making you complacent, they don’t allow you to improve, they make you feel good. Don’t get me wrong, having high self-esteem is important, but, you can’t move forward if you’re existing in your false paradise.

The things that seem productive aren’t productive. We’re told to dream big, whilst this is good, it’s wishful, for the subconscious mind to work and to achieve the goals you have to dream less and do more.

When we ask people to criticise us, we give them the opportunity, to be honest with us, this allows us to reflect and improve, which is important. A person can pay us a compliment to seem nice, that person may hate us, but, they want to be polite.

I’d rather have a person criticise me for the right reasons than have a person compliment me for the wrong reasons. Criticism is uncomfortable and can be painful, but, it gives you the space to grow.

We live in a world where comfort and complacency are celebrated, I’m not trying to be rude here, it seems like everyone, and their dog has anxiety, in a very sad way, mental health has become an excuse and not an issue that needs to be taken care of.

We wallow in self-pity, and the ones that can’t give an F are criticised, they are made fun of and called insensitively, sometimes we’re called selfish. It’s not that I lack empathy, it’s that I can see complacency and I can’t relate to lazy people, I don’t want to relate to them.

You can complain through the rest of the year about how miserable your life is, but 2021 cannot be an excuse, the rest is up to you.

Hey, could you please join my mailing list? Pretty please?! Thanks;)