Well, isn’t that a precious title for you.

Sorry not sorry, can’t help what’s in my brain. This is a follow up to yesterday’s post so check that one out first if you haven’t read it.

Thanks to those who chimed in with comments. You’ve really made me think about my work philosophy and how the current movement fits into it.

Anyway, this is my brain.

This is my brain stuck on a thought provoking tweet.

Just saying.

Also, BWAHAHAHAHAHA. My brain is that soothing sunset about 1% of the time.

Some of yesterday’s comments introduced quiet quitting, doing the bare minimum, and not working to your potential into the discussion. These are all familiar thoughts for me.

Roughly speaking I was elementary(ish) age in the 70s, middle school/high school age in the 80s, and graduated college in the 90s. This didn’t used to seem like the dark ages but TikTok has recently informed me I am older than dirt so let us say a brief prayer for my apparent deceased-ness.

There. We’ve got that behind us so let’s talk about lenses. The worldview I was raised on is a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps mentality. Hard work is an admirable trait, harder work makes you impressive. Putting in more hours than the person next to you makes you invaluable to the company, being invaluable guarantees success, success brings satisfaction. Lather-rinse-repeat.

I was fully baked in a Work Product Defines My Worth environment. (Pause for weed jokes here.)

Side note: 1980 saw the release of Nine to Five, a movie that in its most simplistic breakdown is about a corporate environment for three women. 1988 brought us Working Girl which is, not surprisingly, about women in the workplace and what it takes to be successful. Spoiler alert — superhuman work effort is always in play.

We’re all a product of our upbringing. Before I started unpacking my sh*t this meant my instinctive impression of someone not engaging in the hustle was things like lazy, unmotivated, less worthy of respect, and less intelligent. Nice, right?

And this brings me back to why quiet quitting, minimal effort, and not working to your potential are such familiar concepts. I was steeped in hustle mentality from the day I was born. Someday I’ll dip a toe into the effect of Puritan/Protestant work ethic BUT NOT TODAY, SATAN, let’s stay the course.

Today I’ll simply say this. What if articulating your end goal then meeting your benchmarks to get there is success? What if valuing your downtime — however you might spend it — is just as valid as wanting to work 80 hours a week? What if I can admire both the drive to earn your degree while holding down a job AND having the fortitude to turn down those extra (ie. unpaid) duties so you get home on time? Would the world stop spinning? I don’t think so.

What are your thoughts?