the loneliness of not hustling: feeling out of sync with American life
Scrolling through my feed, it’s hard not to feel like I’m missing something. Everyone’s chasing the next big thing — side hustles, networking events, endless productivity hacks. Hustle culture isn’t just encouraged here; it feels like a requirement.
But I don’t want that. I don’t want to live in a constant race, measuring my worth by how busy I am or how many goals I check off.
It’s lonely to admit that. In a society that praises “grind till you shine,” choosing a slower path makes you feel like an outsider. Like you don’t belong.
David Foster Wallace once said, “The most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about.”
The reality is, this pressure to always do more and be more can be suffocating. And admitting you don’t want that — well, it isolates you.
But maybe that loneliness is a signal, not a failure. Maybe it’s the space where I can finally hear myself think.
And maybe, just maybe, the greatest accomplishment is “to be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
#Entertainment #Books #LonelyReads #DavidFosterWallace #RalphWaldoEmerson
