*This is MY take on Grind Culture. Completely just opinions I have formulated through watching a lot of my friends fall into “grinding”. This take DOES NOT apply to everyone.

“Grinding” is the idea of working really hard and pushing yourself either to your limits or way past them, in order to make more money or achieve a goal such as getting schoolwork done. It is common to hear “I’m on my grind” from college students or young adults that are consistently overworking themselves. These people are under the impression that this grind is benefitting them, I mean they’re getting their work knocked out, or they are getting a lot of money… But at what cost? Grinding implies that these people are often running off little sleep, lots of caffeine, not much food and absolutely no rest. This society has drilled into our brains that if we are doing anything that is not seen as productive i.e., making you money or getting you a degree, you are wasting your time.

It is great that many young people have this burning desire to get their work done, but their approach is to be criticized. Not only do most students and young workers burn themselves out, but typically, they are not completing goals that makes them feel fulfilled. Most often, students are not in college learning about what they are passionate about, but more so what will make them the most money, or maybe what pleases their parents. Also, young adults in the work field are not working at places that fulfill them either, its usually Amazon, in food service or some other business that takes advantage of them. I know more friends burning themselves out over a company or a major they do not care about for the sake of money or pleasing someone else in their life.

 Why? Why do people choose this lifestyle? And how come we do not view rest as productive? It is natural for humans to desire feeling productive and as though they accomplished something. Fulfilling tasks that are meaningless does provide that sense of accomplishment and many do not understand that there could be more out of life. Or sometimes these people have a hard time deciding on what they would be passionate about doing everyday for the rest of their lives. That is a huge obstacle many of us face at the young age of 18 when we graduate high school. It makes sense that people would remain within their comfort zones, not immediately address this decision, and spend each day living an unfulfilling life. Ignoring the need to rest, keeps people’s mind active and occupied on their tasks at hand, even further avoiding the decision of what to do with the rest of their life.

Its important to note that this is not the case of everyone that over works themselves, not the case for every college student, not the case for every young person in food service or another business that takes advantage of them. This is just one take and I have observed through a lot of people I graduated high school with and my understanding of why they might choose this lifestyle over something that they may be passionate about. There are a few ways we may be able to combat this, maybe through programs in high school that make graduating students feel more secure and prepared to create a meaningful life for themselves. Programs that engage high school students would be beneficial to encourage them to get out of their comfort zones. This type of grind culture speaks to the mental health of youth in ways that society has been ignoring.