A Deep Dive into the Grindset and Hustle Culture

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Escape the stresses of grindset and start living a more balanced life

Co-authored by Jennifer Mueller, JD Reviewed by Allison Broennimann, PhD

Last Updated: August 6, 2024 Fact Checked

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What is Grindset?

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Characteristics

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Origins

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Relation to Sigma Males

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Problems

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Escaping the Grindset

Whoever said "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" was clearly not in the grindset. This entrepreneurial mindset focuses on work—all the work, all the time—as the central focus of your life. While the material wealth and superficial image associated with the grindset can be appealing, the toll this mentality can take on your physical and mental health can't be ignored. Read on to learn everything you need to know about the grindset, including how you can escape it to live a more balanced and fulfilling life.

Defining Grindset

A "grindset" is a mindset focused on working constantly to achieve professional power and financial gain, to the exclusion of pretty much everything else in life. Characterized by an extreme focus on achieving materialistic goals, the grindset applauds the sacrifice of personal health and well-being in favor of professional and financial achievement.

Section 1 of 6:

What is Grindset?

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Grindset refers to a mindset constantly focused on work. The idea behind the grindset is that focusing primarily on work is a good thing and will help you achieve your goals of being wildly financially successful. The pinnacle of success is becoming a multimillionaire or billionaire and you can only achieve that if you spend the vast majority of your time and effort working.^{[1]
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- Film and television have glamorized the concept of the grind and endless hustle and ambition (think movies such as "The Social Network" or "The Wolf of Wall Street").
- Motivational memes that encourage people to adopt the grindset, also called "hustle porn," have proliferated on social media.
- Entrepreneurs and young professionals in competitive industries such as law and finance are particularly likely to lose themselves to the grindset.
- Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a backlash against the grindset from people who realize it isn't sustainable and can actually do great damage to people caught up in it.^{[2]
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Section 2 of 6:

Characteristics of Grindset

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Constant work "Rise and grind" is the grindset mantra for good reason—the grindset wants you to be working as much as possible. Anything you might do that isn't work (or at least work-adjacent) is typically considered a waste of time. Even things that most people would consider leisure activities can be turned into something work-related.^{[3]
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- For example, it would be in line with the grindset to read a book, but only if that book was devoted to enhancing your productivity. Better yet, though, you could listen to the audiobook while you were exercising or on your commute to the office.
If you're a grindsetter, you're likely also an over-achiever. The grindset is about setting and achieving goals—then setting and achieving more. You're never one to rest on your laurels and always see another challenge to conquer. The solution is always to go further and do more, usually at the sacrifice of anything else in your life that might hold you back or slow you down.^{[4]
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If you're deep in the grindset, you're always on. Even if you're just sitting down to dinner with friends or family, you're likely always looking at your phone or making deals and connections. You're incapable of shutting down work mode and kicking back to just have some fun and enjoy being around other people.^{[5]
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When you're in the grindset, someone might accuse you of missing the forest for the trees because you're going to hyper-focus on every detail. Everything you do has to be utterly perfect and you won't rest until it is. You can't just put out a good product or service—it has to be the best. And you won't settle for anything less.^{[6]
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Neglect of self-care The grindset leaves no time to care for yourself, whether that means allowing yourself to feel your emotions, getting in touch with your spiritual side, or nourishing your body. Your focus is on work, leaving everything else to fall by the wayside. Grindsetters do tend to take care of themselves physically, but only to the extent necessary to maintain under the crushing demands of the grindset.
- Superficial self-care is a hallmark of the sigma male grindset, which aspires to a particular physical look. But this is all about a certain appearance, rather than actual health. The sigma male grindset also isn't above shortcuts, such as taking steroids, to achieve this look.^{[7]
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Detached outlook The grindset encourages you to view yourself as a kind of machine, capable of exhausting levels of productivity. To see yourself this way means pushing down your thoughts and feelings—a machine simply works without stopping to consider how it feels about the work that it's doing. The grindset enables people to treat others with disregard or even cruelty where necessary to advance their own agenda—after all, it's "just business."^{[8]
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- Many proponents of the grindset consider any display or discussion of emotions to be a sign of weakness—something that you should overcome if you want to ascend to the pinnacle of greatness.
- Within the grindset, individual thoughts and feelings are considered things that hold you back or limit you from accomplishing everything that you could accomplish without them.

Section 3 of 6:

Origins of the Grindset Mentality

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"Grindset" emerged from the hustle culture trend. The word itself, a portmanteau of "grind" and "mindset," implies that people need to embrace work—often referred to as "the daily grind"—if they want to succeed. If you're fully in the "grindset," your life pretty much exclusively revolves around work to the neglect of nearly everything else.^{[9]
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- This idea likely emerged from Silicon Valley entrepreneurs in the late 1990s and early 2000s who credited their extreme work ethic with their success.
- The grindset mentality is less associated with people who have to work excessive hours each week just to keep a roof over their heads. Instead, the grindset is about working constantly to gain significant material wealth and access to a luxury lifestyle.

Section 4 of 6:

Relation to Sigma Males

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Some propose that sigma males are the embodiment of grindset. The sigma male is one of many Greek-letter labels meant to categorize primarily men and effectively reduce them to a list of physical and mental traits. This term originated in the far-right "manosphere" in 2010 and describes a "lone wolf" type of man who doesn't play by the rules and intentionally positions himself outside the traditional hierarchy.^{[10]
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- A sigma male is primarily interested in physical and financial gains over anything else.
- Sigma male icons are often works of fiction, such as Patrick Bateman from "American Psycho," but can also be real people, such as Elon Musk.
- The grindset is so associated with the idea of the sigma male that it's sometimes referred to as the "sigma male mindset." The phrase "sigma grindset" had 2.8 billion views on TikTok in 2022.^{[11]
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Section 5 of 6:

Problems with Grindset

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Many aspects of the grindset and hustle culture generally can lead to anxiety, including the chronic stress, the demands you put on your mind and body, and the use or abuse of stimulants to maintain long working hours. Studies show all of these can lead to psychological stress, including symptoms of anxiety.^{[12]
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The long work hours associated with the grindset can also lead to symptoms of depression. This also comes from focusing exclusively on work without nurturing social connections among family and friends. Grindsetters often have to deal with the crushing loneliness that comes from devoting all of their time and effort to their career.
Working long hours and not treating yourself with care and compassion can have some disastrous effects on your mental abilities. This is somewhat ironic given the grindset's hyper-focus on work and productivity. This decline can cause you to make more mistakes, which is super frustrating if you're a grindsetter intent on perfection.
The persistent focus on work without allowing yourself any time for relaxation or play means you're living in a near-constant state of stress. Your body can't cope well with these stress levels, particularly over the long term. If left unchecked, this can lead to serious mental and physical health problems.^{[13]
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The grindset considers any time not working to be wasted time—that includes sleep. The typical grindsetter seems to get by on very little sleep, which can only make the other problems associated with the grindset worse. Grindsetters often brag about how little sleep they get and wear their sleep deprivation as a badge of honor, but it can have disastrous health consequences.^{[14]
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With all that time and energy devoted to work, it stands to reason that eventually, many folks enmeshed in the grindset will find they need a little help to maintain their nonstop lifestyle. This can lead to a cycle of abuse and dependency in an effort to cope with the immense stress.^{[15]
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Section 6 of 6:

Escaping the Grindset

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Redefine what success means to you. Take some time to reflect and figure out what your core values really are—what is most important to you in life? What do you find most fulfilling? You might find that while you've been chasing money and material wealth or professional acclaim, those aren't really the things that are most important to you at the end of the day.^{[16]
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- Once you've defined your core values, start aligning what you do in your day-to-day life to match up with those. This will help your life feel more fulfilling and meaningful.
- For example, if you determined that spending time in nature was one of your core values, you might plan to hike for a couple of hours each week and turn off the notifications on your phone while you're out.
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Develop habits that promote a healthy work-life balance. Playing and having fun is important to your mental health—it's not something that magically goes away when you become an adult! Making time for hobbies and activities that have nothing to do with work will help refresh you and give you more mental and physical energy.^{[17]
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- The grindset and hustle culture are heavily associated with burnout. Maintaining a balance between work and leisure by setting aside time to do non-work things can keep that from happening.
- It also helps to remind yourself that taking time for rest and relaxation is actually productive. Slowing down and taking time off can help you feel more inspired and motivated—it might even lead you to that big idea you've been chasing.^{[18]
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- A study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that people who had time to engage in hobbies outside of work had higher overall mental well-being than those who didn't.
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Set boundaries regarding work. Everyone is connected 24/7, which can make it difficult for you to break away from work completely—but you can start by setting limits. Even if it's just an hour or two each evening when you're not available by phone, it sets a precedent that you won't do work all of the time. Let people at work know that they shouldn't expect a response from you during those times, then stick to the boundaries you've set.^{[19]
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- For example, you might say, "I have family time from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m. every day. Any calls, texts, or emails during that time will be returned later in the evening or the next morning."
- You might also designate specific activities during which you won't be disrupted by work, such as while you're sleeping or while you're exercising each morning.
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Prioritize self-care over material gains. Your money and material possessions won't mean much if you work yourself into a state of mental or physical illness. Do things that will fulfill your soul and enrich your life in addition to striving to meet your professional goals. You'll feel much more successful if you have the time and energy to enjoy the fruits of your labor.^{[20]
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- Self-care doesn't just include things like exercising and taking care of your physical appearance. It also means taking care of yourself emotionally! Allow yourself to feel your emotions and get in touch with your inner self. Journaling can help with this.
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Cultivate deep relationships with the people you love. Humans are social and emotional beings—spending time with people is necessary for your mental health! The people who love you are there to support you and care for you. Open up to them and practice being emotionally vulnerable and you'll start to develop strong, loving relationships.^{[21]
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Mayo Clinic
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- The grindset can be alienating because you're entirely focused on work. Take baby steps reconnecting with the people in your life and showing them how much you care and that you're ready to be open with them.
- Focus on quality time, when you're not distracted by work or anything else. For example, you might play a board game with your family in the evening and have everyone put their phones in a drawer so no one will potentially be distracted by them.