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Abstract

ight now, I’m in my mid-30s, and while many self-made people became self-made in their 30s, I just don’t have the level of energy that I had right out of college anymore. Don’t get me wrong, if I pushed myself, I could probably do it — I just run a very real risk of becoming suicidally depressed after a few months.So, my side-hustles are languishing. I’m publishing maybe two or three articles a month and not marketing my freelance gig right now. I have a semi-regular speaking gig that I do with my local NAMI chapter, but that’s sporadic and doesn’t pay very well (which is fine, since I mostly do it for the catharsis of speaking my truth).Honestly, I’m happy not doing the hustle thing right now. I’m coming out of a multi-month clinical depression spike that transitioned directly into my seasonal depression, and after all that depression, along with a bunch of work stress, my motivation is fairly shot. Most of my available energy is going into my day job, and I’d rather devote the remainder to my few social connections right now.I think we need to normalize that mindset. Young people have developed the idea that we need to be constantly putting ourselves out there on social media and into the world to drum up support, whether that is financial or via clicks and likes. We have come to embody the hustle culture, often out of the necessity of having multiple revenue streams to support our lower wages and unstable employment prospects. But, not everyone is built for that, and I think we need to recognize that.Yes, Millennials and Gen Z are entrepreneurial by nature, but we’re all still people, and people come in many flavors.For every go-getter social media star bringing in the big bucks 24/7/365, there are plenty of us who just want to spend our Saturdays sitting on the couch watching Netflix.Not all of us are built to have and maintain three different side-hustles or curate our social media presence all day every day.What’s worse is that we’re in a bit of a bind over that premise. We are either held up as shining examples of the American hustle culture — the 25-year-old millionaire and the FIRE movement — or we are denigrat

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ed as a generation of entitled and lazy kids.To top it all off, so much of it depends on pure luck. Social media is fickle, and you can’t control what goes viral. Some people play the game perfectly and never have anything to show for it, others get randomly lucky and coast for years from one viral video, while still others lose everything because fans didn’t like their latest video.I think that the idea of hustle culture needs to change from a requirement of life to a nice bonus for those willing to chase it. Not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur, but holy crap are we under a lot of pressure to become them. Some of us (probably a lot of us) just want to work a nine-to-five job that pays a decent wage and come home to relax on the couch, which was the promise of the generations before us.So, ultimately, my side-hustles will probably always be anemic at best, since I don’t have the energy to put towards them. That’s okay. I’ll never be a FIRE guy or bring in $10,000 a month, but I’ll live comfortably on my salary and enjoy my life.If you’re in a similar situation as me, I want you to know that it’s okay to not pursue side hustles if you don’t want to. Not playing the hustle game doesn’t make you a bad person, nor does it make you lazy or entitled. If anything, it shows that you value your time and know where your priorities lie.American culture is a culture of hustlers. We are all encouraged by the media and our peers and parents to get out there and hustle, to have the side gigs and the passive income streams. But, and this is an important but, hustling is not an intrinsic indicator of your value as a person. Not wanting to play the game is a valid choice and does not make you a lesser person.So, to all the non-hustlers out there: go forth and relax. Watch Netflix. Play your video games without feeling pressure to stream on Twitch. Read a book without needing to write a pithy review for your blog. Spend time with your loved ones without taking photos for Instagram. Enjoy your free time in the way you want to, and know that you are not alone. There are millions of us out there who, just like you, want to escape the hustle.</article></body>

Why I Won’t Succeed At My Side-Hustles

And why that’s okay.

American culture is a culture of hustlers. If you’re not working at least one or two side-hustles, they say, you’re missing out. I have (and to a certain extent still do) subscribed to that theory, working several small side-hustles in addition to my nine-to-five desk job.

Honestly, right now, none of them are terribly lucrative. My most recent Medium earnings were just over $5, mostly on the back of my existing content. My freelance writing hustle hasn’t had any hits for a while. I’m living primarily on my salary, with minimal other income streams.

And you know what? I’m okay with that.

You see, in a culture of hustlers, I’m just…not. The conventional wisdom says you should be working constantly, marketing yourself to clients at all times, and maintaining a slick online presence on social media and elsewhere. There are plenty of people who make it work for them, and they reap the rewards of their efforts.

I don’t have the energy for that.

There was a time where I was cranking out multiple articles a week, picking up freelance gigs, and posting regularly on my social media pages. Not so much, lately. I’m not a natural self-marketer, being more prone to introversion and imposter syndrome than to the natural energy and exuberance that many self-made people have.

In addition, I live with bipolar disorder, which makes life interesting at the best times and downright challenging at the worst. My medications have been in the process of failing me for about two years now, and I’m only now switching them up to help manage my moods a bit better.

To top it all off, I really enjoy my free time. The thought of putting in ten or twelve-hour days and twelve or fourteen-day weeks makes me stressed just thinking about it. I’ve done it before, too, and after a few months of it, I wanted to die. I’m just not built to dump all my free time into work.

Right now, I’m in my mid-30s, and while many self-made people became self-made in their 30s, I just don’t have the level of energy that I had right out of college anymore. Don’t get me wrong, if I pushed myself, I could probably do it — I just run a very real risk of becoming suicidally depressed after a few months.

So, my side-hustles are languishing. I’m publishing maybe two or three articles a month and not marketing my freelance gig right now. I have a semi-regular speaking gig that I do with my local NAMI chapter, but that’s sporadic and doesn’t pay very well (which is fine, since I mostly do it for the catharsis of speaking my truth).

Honestly, I’m happy not doing the hustle thing right now. I’m coming out of a multi-month clinical depression spike that transitioned directly into my seasonal depression, and after all that depression, along with a bunch of work stress, my motivation is fairly shot. Most of my available energy is going into my day job, and I’d rather devote the remainder to my few social connections right now.

I think we need to normalize that mindset. Young people have developed the idea that we need to be constantly putting ourselves out there on social media and into the world to drum up support, whether that is financial or via clicks and likes. We have come to embody the hustle culture, often out of the necessity of having multiple revenue streams to support our lower wages and unstable employment prospects. But, not everyone is built for that, and I think we need to recognize that.

Yes, Millennials and Gen Z are entrepreneurial by nature, but we’re all still people, and people come in many flavors.

For every go-getter social media star bringing in the big bucks 24/7/365, there are plenty of us who just want to spend our Saturdays sitting on the couch watching Netflix.

Not all of us are built to have and maintain three different side-hustles or curate our social media presence all day every day.

What’s worse is that we’re in a bit of a bind over that premise. We are either held up as shining examples of the American hustle culture — the 25-year-old millionaire and the FIRE movement — or we are denigrated as a generation of entitled and lazy kids.

To top it all off, so much of it depends on pure luck. Social media is fickle, and you can’t control what goes viral. Some people play the game perfectly and never have anything to show for it, others get randomly lucky and coast for years from one viral video, while still others lose everything because fans didn’t like their latest video.

I think that the idea of hustle culture needs to change from a requirement of life to a nice bonus for those willing to chase it. Not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur, but holy crap are we under a lot of pressure to become them. Some of us (probably a lot of us) just want to work a nine-to-five job that pays a decent wage and come home to relax on the couch, which was the promise of the generations before us.

So, ultimately, my side-hustles will probably always be anemic at best, since I don’t have the energy to put towards them. That’s okay. I’ll never be a FIRE guy or bring in $10,000 a month, but I’ll live comfortably on my salary and enjoy my life.

If you’re in a similar situation as me, I want you to know that it’s okay to not pursue side hustles if you don’t want to. Not playing the hustle game doesn’t make you a bad person, nor does it make you lazy or entitled. If anything, it shows that you value your time and know where your priorities lie.

American culture is a culture of hustlers. We are all encouraged by the media and our peers and parents to get out there and hustle, to have the side gigs and the passive income streams. But, and this is an important but, hustling is not an intrinsic indicator of your value as a person. Not wanting to play the game is a valid choice and does not make you a lesser person.

So, to all the non-hustlers out there: go forth and relax. Watch Netflix. Play your video games without feeling pressure to stream on Twitch. Read a book without needing to write a pithy review for your blog. Spend time with your loved ones without taking photos for Instagram. Enjoy your free time in the way you want to, and know that you are not alone. There are millions of us out there who, just like you, want to escape the hustle.