Why the hell is my generation bent on killing themselves? Seriously … who drank this Kool-Aid?
Don’t get me wrong. I am all in favor of busting my ass and making dreams happen, but I recently had a conversation with someone about a client of theirs. She was explaining that she would have a tough time enjoying the fruits of the labor because she works and is at the office until ten or eleven every night. (That is after going in at nine in the morning, at the latest.)
And it got me wondering … why? Seriously … why? What is the end goal?
I am not against hard work. In fact, I work my ass off, but why? That is at best, a 12-hour day and at worst, a 14-hour day. Every day. For five days a week. Plus more on the weekends. And I ask again: For what?
I believe it is one thing if you are building your own business, or you are a lawyer with a big case coming up, or a doctor who works in the ER and has 12-hour shifts four days a week. But this person is doing this each and every week. Non-stop.
There is more to life than work. You have to play. You have to read. You have to relax. And you have to take care of yourself. If you don’t, not only will you burn-out, you’re not going to be producing much work anyway.
So, why is this happening?
Is it a result of an employer asking too much? Bad time management skills? A combination of both?
My guess is that it is a combination of both. I’m not the world’s best at time management, but I know I don’t need to work 12-hour days to get my work done. Not only is that not sustainable, it is not healthy.
No matter how passionate you are, there is good hustle and there is bad hustle.
