Why I Hate Hustle Culture—and What Forgiveness Taught Me
Originally shared May 22, 2025 in the Naked Sunday Newsletter. Adapted for the journal.
I hate hustle culture…
Just maybe not for the reason you might think.
(Stick with me… we’ll get there.)
To be clear… I value effort. I value consistency.
I’m not ridiculous to think that you just sit idly on your hands and just think about “manifesting” and that will solve all your life’s problems without ever taking some action.
But…
There’s this endless loop of black-and-white, “gritty,” “hardcore” clips that pops into my head…
Shaky camera.
Dramatic music.
Cliché quotes plastered over the top:
“Pain is weakness leaving the body.”
“No excuses.”
“Rise and grind.”
28-hour days.
Caffeine for breakfast.
Biohacks for lunch.
A to-do list that scrolls longer than the Terms & Conditions.
No time to breathe…but plenty of time to brag about how busy you are.
Wearing burnout like a badge of honor.
My first response? (with an eye-roll that you can actually hear)
Cool, bro.
But when my sarcastic side subsides, beyond my initial judgement…
I see a lonely little kid trying to be loved.
And then my heart softens even more…
because I’ve been there.
(If I’m being brutally honest with myself… I still have those moments when I fall back into old traps… because God-forbid I am only human lol)
I’ve been the one working overtime to be seen.
To prove I’m enough.
To finally earn someone’s approval.
The problem is… when that “I’m not enough” version of you is running the show, you end up building a life that might look impressive to others… but feels hollow.
I’ve battled exactly that…
Trying to be the best.
Trying to be right.
Trying to be validated.
And all it did was blend me into a crowd of other high-functioning, high-achieving people who were just as disconnected and burnt out.
I thought if I just got to the top of the mountain, with the dream girl, the dream gym, the dream body, I’d finally be at peace…
That I’d be happy.
Turns out… I was wrong.
What I got was resentment, chronic pain, strained relationships, exhaustion, and this constant, nagging question in the back of my head:
Is this really it?
At the core of it all?
An inability or unwillingness to forgive.
I was still trying to prove something to people who had no idea I was still carrying them in my head.
Still waging some internal war for approval that never came.
My hustle was just another way of running from the stillness that would allow me to let go of the resentment and pain. And damn… I was reallllly stubborn.
Here’s what I’ve learned since:
Refusing to forgive feeds your ego… while starving your soul.
When I started my so-called “spiritual journey,” AKA Naked Sunday, one of the first things I did was what I now call my “Reconciliation Tour.”
In short, I basically went around and made peace with the people in my life. From family to former business partners to friends, I first went and apologized to all those I had wronged (because amidst my single-minded, win-at-all-costs mentality, I left a wave of heart-ache) and forgave those who had hurt me.
It was one of the most liberating experiences of my life.
What I didn’t expect?
Every time I did it, my future felt lighter.
More clear.
More possible.
The noise started to fade.
The pressure eased up.
I felt more like me again.
Again, I’m not saying the old voices never show up anymore.
They do.
But the way I talk to myself is different.
I don’t punish myself for slipping.
I don’t force myself to keep pushing when I’m clearly drained.
I rest.
I trust.
And the wild part?
I get more done without destroying myself (internally or externally) in the process.
I’m quicker to give myself permission to walk away from the hustle.
To refocus on building a life that’s aligned with who I actually am.
And at the center of that shift… was forgiveness.
So why do I really hate hustle culture?
Because I hate watching people hate themselves.
I hate watching people grind themselves into the ground to earn love or approval…
When none of that is something you ever had to earn in the first place.
If that’s you?
It’s time to forgive yourself.
It’s time to forgive others so that you don’t have to let the old ghosts of your pasts continue to stand in the way of your happiness.
You don’t need to hustle harder.
You just need to come home to yourself.
Freedom is on the other side of forgiveness.
Related reflections
Until next time…
Love. Every. Body.
