Stop Saying We All Have 24 Hours in a Day

Summary

The article argues that the notion 'We all have the same 24 hours in a day' is flawed due to differences in privilege and life circumstances that affect how individuals can utilize their time.

Abstract

The article challenges the popular adage that everyone has the same amount of time each day by highlighting the disparities in privilege and resources. It points out that a person's 24 hours can vary greatly depending on their socioeconomic status, with the wealthy often able to delegate tasks and focus on personal success, unlike the average person who must manage multiple responsibilities. The author criticizes comments like those made by Kim Kardashian, which seem to ignore the realities of those without her level of privilege. The piece emphasizes that hard work does not always lead to success and wealth, and it cautions against equating financial success with personal worth or effort. It encourages readers to recognize their unique circumstances and not to measure their self-worth against the success of those born into wealth.

Opinions

The author believes that the statement 'We all have the same 24 hours in a day' is misleading and dismissive of the varied challenges people face.
The article suggests that privilege significantly influences how one's 24 hours are spent and the opportunities available to them.
It criticizes the wealthy elite, such as Kim Kardashian, for making insensitive comments about work ethic without acknowledging their own privileged position.
The author argues that success should not be solely measured by wealth and fame, as many hardworking individuals may not achieve these due to their circumstances.
The piece advocates for a more nuanced understanding of success and hard work, recognizing that each person's 24 hours are unique to their situation.
It emphasizes that societal pressures to achieve a certain level of success can be toxic and lead to feelings of inadequacy among those who do not attain it.

Our 24 Hours All Have Different Faces

You may have heard the saying ‘We all have the same 24 hours in a day’ which has been circling social media the past few years but recently has faced some reconsideration.

While it is true that we all have 24 hours in a day, it's actually inaccurate to assume that we all have the same 24 hours in a day.

Let’s be real, a day in the life of your average person looks very different from a day lived by someone of great privilege. There are so many things that your average Joe has to consider; even worry about, that a person of privilege can outsource to someone else.

“Get your f*cking ass up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days.” — Kim Kardashian, Variety Magazine

Recently Kim Kardashian received a large amount of backlash for this comment, and in all honesty, I think it was deserved. It is so easy to tell people to work when you have had everything handed to you on a silver platter since birth. The majority of the population have not had such luck.

Understanding The Privilege Card

When you are in a position of privilege, have been born into wealth, and where money has never been an issue, it's easy to sit there and say that we all have the same 24 hours in a day.

Not all of us have chauffeurs, private chefs, nannies, and personal assistants to take tasks off our hands. When these tasks can be offloaded onto someone else, anyone would be in a position to focus on being ‘successful’.

The majority of us still need to cook our own dinners, drive ourselves around, and actually raise our kids. So how exactly is it fair to lump a wealthy person and an average working-class person together and tell them that they both have the same amount of time in a day to achieve the same things?

Working Hard Doesn’t Always Equal Success

Lack of success or obvious success for that matter does not mean that we do not work hard. There are single parents out there working 3 jobs, who are also the chef, chauffeur, and nanny in their homes. Sometimes they barely make ends meet, yet they provide for their family. Is that not working hard?

Just because they don’t have designer clothes and fancy cars, that does not mean they aren’t working hard. They just haven’t hit huge global popularity and wealth, which for some reason seems to be perceived as the only way to be successful.

It’s condescending to say to someone that just because they aren’t filthy rich they aren’t working hard. When all of us are out there working and trying to create a good life for ourselves. We aren’t all couch potatoes just because we aren’t rich and famous.

Putting that message out into the world is toxic and creates room for individuals to put extreme pressure on themselves to reach a certain status and if not, they are deemed as failures or as being lazy.

Takeaway

We all do have 24 hours in a day, but the 24 hours we have are unique and we cannot compare them to people who have had a leg up in life. Whilst we can strive to achieve something of similar accolades, we should also not beat ourselves up when we see someone who is more successful because they were born into wealth. We are not all born onto an even playing field.

While there are some people who really do come from nothing and create a luxurious lifestyle, they never had it as easy as someone who had connections and wealth to get them to where they are now.

We all work hard in our own way at whatever it is we do, and even if the life we have doesn’t scream fame and riches we should rest knowing that we are doing our best with what we were given and no one can make us feel like we aren’t enough.