Running from locals or metros daily from 9 – 5 , sleepless nights , holding ambition in eyes and working daily for what to just earn and live a peaceful life in an apartment you always dreamt of or a bungalow with your family with a pool and a long garden with trees and flowers ? this is a dream of millions of people who work daily either to prove themselves or to make their families happy.
But is it really easy to make these things work out as it sounds while writing or just thinking about it ? No. it is not easy at all. In the generation where people talks about hustle is real rather than struggle is real. This hustle starts just after you complete your 10 from choosing a subject which will lead you to a better life to succeeding in it with good grades in 12 boards and once the boards are over the real hustle and struggle of getting a good government college starts.
From IIM to IITs , from NIT to VITs , from NIFT to NIDs – the struggle of getting into these top government colleges begins. From clearing the JEE advance and mains to waiting for a good rank , the hustle goes on and will be always keep on going after college , after job , after you get married and more. But the one and only thing that no one focuses on is how is this hustle affecting us , affecting those students who are currently in 10 but are still thinking of becoming something great , affecting those who have completed their graduation but are struggling to get a well paid job and affecting those who are currently earning but the hours , the travelling and the earning – they are not satisfied with it.
The real meaning of hustle is not to just run from one train to another to reach your office or college but how your mind gets messed up daily in this busy culture of 9 to 5 , how your peace is put on edge and how your sacrifices are made to achieve something. A question was asked from a Mumbaiker that why people in Mumbai keep on running even though they are not late? the person replied that Mumbai is known as the city of dreams because of some reason, and if one has to achieve a dream he has to run no matter what otherwise someone else will take your place or if your train misses, they will be late and that late will cost you a lot.
There is very famous dialogue from 3 Idiots – “life is a race, agar tum nahi bhagoge to log tumhe kuchal kea age nikal jayenge”. Which is true and scary at the same time, but there is also a dialogue which works as a contradiction to the above dialogue from the movie Zindagi na milegi dobara – “insaan ko darr ke aage jeetna nahi , jeena sikhna chahiye”.
There is a mindset which is made in all of us that constant feeling of not doing enough and this mindset is the reason behind burnout - a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. Running behind your aims and want to achieve something is very important but if you are not mentally , physically , emotionally stable then what is the point of chasing those dreams ?
A study has shown that to feel energetic and positive towards achieving something great in life , one has to be stable and relaxed from mind and heart. And as seen from these studies and records the shift is happening slowly though but it is – conversation on mental health , work life balance , physical and emotional peace is gaining ground. Hustle culture assumes that everyone starts from the same place that hard work alone guarantees success. In reality, access to opportunities varies widely in India. For many, the pressure to “hustle harder” becomes a burden rather than a choice and when something starts to become a burden on your head , it is very important to take a break and indulge into something that provides peace to you and your mind.
India’s population are driven and capable, but ambition without balance leads to burnout, not success. Hustle culture promises achievement, but often delivers exhaustion. But one should always remember that
Making or achieving it should not mean losing yourself in the process.
True success lies not just in how far you go, but in how well you live while getting there
Refrences :
- The times of India - statistics for people working from 9-5
- The Economic Times - Mumbai and hustle culture
- Psychology Today - rise and grind of hustle culture
- Wikipedia - how to cope up with this culture mentally