No, we’re not talking about that kind of porn. Hustle porn is a type of porn that absolutely no one could get off to and has no place in anyone’s life.
Maybe you never even have heard of “hustle porn.” If that’s the case, then we’re sorry for being the ones to bring it to your attention.
Because hustle culture is, quite frankly, one of the most damaging trends that have come out of the internet, and that’s quite ironic, considering what hustle porn sets out to do.
In theory, hustle porn is meant to motivate us to work harder at our jobs, take better care of ourselves with intensive 12-step routines, and constantly be learning new skills – all in the name of self-improvement and fulfillment.
But the hustle culture that has formed on social media does nothing more than breed a toxic mentality that encourages us to push ourselves past the point of burnout for little to no purpose.
[Read: 15 things everyone should know about how to live a happy life]
What is hustle porn, really?
There are tons of quotes from successful people saying they worked extremely and made huge sacrifices, which ultimately brought them success. But is that what you need to do?
This is a bitter pill to swallow, but it’s the truth; working hard and hustling daily won’t always translate into success. You could study into the late hours of the night, spend countless hours each day building your social media following, or go to auditions more often than you go to see friends or family.
But it’s not guaranteed that this effort will lead to success. Sometimes, hard work doesn’t actually matter. There are certainly fields where you’ll only get far if you have the right connections, or just have dumb luck.
And yet, hustle porn ignores that fact. Instead, it tells you to push yourself further and further, way beyond your natural limits, with the promise that one day it’ll all be worth it. But there’s never a guarantee that you’ll “make it,” so it’s not worth burning yourself out.
The fundamentals of hustle porn that you need to know about
As bad as hustle porn is, it’s still worth talking about. Actually, it’s really important to be knowledgeable about the topic, because when we’re informed, we can better avoid it.
Hustle culture is a dangerous trap that can be easy to fall into. Every couple of months, a new hustle porn creator starts trending, reaching insane levels of popularity because of their hustle message.
But when you know what hustle porn looks like and why you don’t need it in your life, it’ll be easier to avoid falling into their clever traps.
1. The founder of Reddit came up with “hustle porn”
If you’re a fan of Reddit, then you know its founder, Alexis Ohanian. As someone who’s in the high-tech industry, and created a platform, he’s well aware of the high-tech environment.
He was actually the one who came up with the term “hustle porn” after his own experiences when developing Reddit. [Read: How to make yourself happy? 20 habits of incredibly happy people]
2. Hustle porn is a new concept
Back in the day, we weren’t technologically advanced. Sure, some of us had cell phones, but they’re scanning our fingerprints or connected to apps.
Hustle porn is a relatively new concept, one that’s been developed ever since the high-tech industry boomed. That’s when you started to see people overworking themselves.
So, if you haven’t heard of this term before, don’t think you’re falling behind with the times. Hustle porn is a relatively new concept.
3. Hustle porn suggests hustling = success
At least in the high-tech industry’s eyes. The idea is that unless you’re grinding and putting in endless hours at work every single day, you’re not working hard enough.
Suffering and essentially deteriorating means you’re hustling. And that’s seen as something admirable and encouraged in the workplace. [Read: How to balance your career, social, and dating life]
4. Comparing yourself to other people is an important part of hustle porn
Hustle porn works by making you think, through social media *especially Instagram and LinkedIn* and certain behavior in the workplace itself, that everyone around you is working harder than you… and you’re lazy for not matching up. That Insta post of a swish promotion celebration a coworker threw last week? Yep. Hustle porn.
Why hustle porn is bad for you
So what exactly is wrong with hustle porn? It may sound beneficial and even incredible to be motivated to work harder and make something more for yourself.
But hustling your life away is a concept that gets right to the heart of why hustle porn – and hustle culture as a whole – can be so harmful. Let’s take a look at what it is about hustle porn that makes it so bad.
1. Work becomes an identity and life purpose
Ideally, you should work to live, not live to work. Do you get the difference? Of course, we all need to work, but your job shouldn’t identify who you are as a person and form your sole life’s purpose.
But, often in the high-tech industry, your job becomes who you are. Why? It’s the only thing you do with your time. There’s no time for you to develop as a person, so bye-bye healthy relationships.
It’s hard enough already to balance love *and even friendship* with a high-intensity or demanding career path. Adhering to the life hustle porn wants you to lead will cause you to have to kiss these relationships goodbye… and then the loneliness kicks in.
[Read: How to balance your career, work life, and love life]
2. Hustle porn isn’t healthy for anyone
Even if you think you can do it, you can’t. That isn’t a challenge, that’s a promise.
Hustle porn promotes ideas of working that are just not healthy for any human being. When you’re putting maximum energy into your job, you ignore your mental and physical health.
Most of the time, you don’t realize that you’ve trashed your health with the hustle until you burn out or have an emotional breakdown. The health risks associated with hustle porn are depression, anxiety, type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal issues, and cardiovascular diseases. It’s too much risk to be worth it.
3. Your hobbies will stop being hobbies
What do you do to make yourself happy? Do you play video games, paint, or go for hikes? When hustle porn takes over your life, things you do just for love or joy start to be all about money and success.
You start thinking, “Why do something for myself when I could be doing it for hustle porn on social media?”
These days, everybody feels pressure to hustle and monetize everything. If you game, you have to try to become a streamer; if you make art, you have to offer commissions for a fee. Then the joy just drains away when your beloved hobby becomes part of the grind.
If you live the hustle porn lifestyle, pretty soon even things you love won’t bring you any pleasure anymore – they’ll just be a means to hustle, and perpetuate the cycle.
4. You’ll never stop comparing yourself to others
Once hustle porn gets into your head, you’ll never feel good enough. You’ll never feel as though you can just exist for yourself, without seeking the validation of other people, especially at work. Endless comparison like this inevitably leads to a damaged self-image and low self-esteem.
Even if you like yourself now, you won’t when hustle culture is done with you. Self-esteem is made up of the opinion we have of ourselves, and how we perceive the way we move through the world. When we have healthy self-esteem, it makes us better able to deal with life’s ups and downs.
When hustle culture’s given your self-esteem a hit by making you constantly compare yourself to others, you’re not only going to have bad feelings about yourself, but you’re more likely to make mountains out of molehills. You might find tasks, even at work, that you previously found easy now feel far out of your scope.
How to get hustle culture out of your life
In any job, you are going to need to invest a certain amount of hours, but that doesn’t mean you need to let yourself get sucked into your job. Everybody feels pressure to hustle.
In high-tech, it’s not an easy thing to avoid, because hustling is embedded in the culture of the high-tech industry. But, you can do things to create a more balanced life. We’re going to talk about them now.
1. Define success for yourself in a way that includes non-business interests
When you think of the word “success,” money, fancy cars, and expensive clothes probably come into your mind. But in reality, success means something different for everyone: it can be completely unrelated to business interests.
One thing we can all agree on is that success doesn’t mean sacrificing your family and friends to work non-stop every day. Figure out what your work-free goals are, and see how you can shape your life to achieve those goals in a healthy manner.
[Read: How to succeed in life – All you ever need to know]
2. Make sleep a priority
Anthropological and scientific research shows that human beings will die of sleep deprivation faster than starvation. Sleep is the time our bodies take to heal themselves, regenerate, and refresh after the stresses of life. You need a lot of sleep if you’re working in high-tech.
Actually, whether you’re in a high-tech workspace or not, you still probably need more sleep than you’re getting now. If you’re working hard, you need to rest hard.
But you also need to work smarter. If that means shaving an hour or two a day off your working day so you can rest, do it. You’ll be more productive.
3. Social media detox
Hustle porn culture needs social media to thrive. It started there *on Reddit*, and now TikTok, Instagram, and – worst of all – LinkedIn feed the hustle monster daily. These hustle-porn-factory algorithms make money by making us compare ourselves negatively to other people.
Sometimes the only way to try to expunge all traces of harmful hustle porn from our daily lives is to disconnect ourselves entirely.
A social media detox is consciously avoiding any use of social media for a certain length of time – even going so far as to let friends or partners change the passwords so we can’t get in! Some people detox for as little as seven days, or as long as a year.
Try taking a social media detox if you’re struggling with hustle porn on social media, and comparing yourself to other people’s online personas.
4. Temper your passion
Many people who are in high-tech are passionate about the job they’re doing. And that’s perfectly fine. Ideally, being passionate about your job is a positive thing. But, that doesn’t mean your passion should take over your life and burn you out.
This is where you need to find balance and create boundaries so that you keep your passion a passion.
That hobby? Do it just for fun. That overtime? Maybe don’t take it. You’ve had a nice manageable day at work, and the world will not fall to pieces if you go home for a hard-earned rest.
It doesn’t mean you’re less passionate just because you know your limits. In fact, it takes a lot of passion to exercise self-control!
[Read: What should I do with my life to make it better?]
Everyone works, but remember, you weren’t put on this earth to work your job. You were put on this earth to live, not to hustle. Get hustle porn out of your life entirely and you’ll start to realize how successful you can be without it!
