Let me be honest — I didn’t even realize how much hustle culture had shaped me until one day I sat down on the couch “to rest for five minutes” and immediately felt like I was committing a crime. Like someone was going to bust through the door, clap a slate, and yell, “CUT — why aren’t you working?”
And if you’re in entertainment, you already know the vibe. It starts young. School, sports, auditions… everyone telling you to “do more.” Then you grow up and suddenly the entertainment industry is like: “Congrats, here’s a career where you never feel done.” And you’re thinking… was that supposed to be motivational?
The Guilt Hits Fast
The thing about hustle culture (and I say this with love and trauma) is that it makes rest feel dirty. Like you’re cheating on your ambition. You lie down for a second and boom — guilt. Full body guilt. The type that says: “Someone out there is rehearsing right now and you’re horizontal.”
And then you pick up your phone and see someone post “Just booked a role!” and suddenly you’re like, “Yes, thank you, universe, for this emotional punch in the throat.”
If You’re Not Doing Something, You Feel Like a Fraud
One of the worst things hustle culture did to a lot of us in entertainment was trick us into thinking our worth is tied to our productivity. Not our creativity. Not our spark. Not our actual personality. Just… output.
Did you film something today?
Edit something?
Submit somewhere?
Network?
Cry creatively?
If not, you start spiraling like, “Am I even allowed to sit down?”
It’s wild. And painfully relatable.
Eventually Your Body Is Just Like… No.
There’s always a moment — usually at 3 a.m. when you’re rewriting a script or practicing lines for an audition you’re not even sure is happening — where your body just gives you that long, dramatic stare. You know the one. The stare that says: “Listen. I’m done.”
Coffee stops working.
You forget words.
Everything feels like you’re buffering.
And that’s when it hits you: wow, hustle culture really did a number on me.
Trying to Unlearn the Madness
Here’s what “healing” looks like when you’re still half-traumatized by hustle culture:
You sit down.
You rest.
You try not to freak out.
Your brain freaks out anyway.
You keep resting.
Your brain slowly calms down.
Repeat.
You start realizing nothing explodes when you rest. The industry doesn’t collapse. Your career doesn’t evaporate. You don’t stop being creative just because you took a nap.
Choosing a Different Version of Success
Somewhere in all this, you start remembering what actual joy feels like. Laughing without checking your phone. Doing creative stuff just because it’s fun, not because you “should.” Sleeping — wild concept — because you need it.
And eventually, you start rewriting the rules hustle culture stuffed into your brain. You swap grind for balance, exhaustion for clarity, and guilt for… well, a slightly smaller guilt. It’s progress.
And honestly? That’s enough. More than enough.
