Strivers vs. Thrivers: Supreme Ideas for Work Life Balance
- December 1, 2019
- Productivity
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Strivers vs. Thrivers: Thoughts on Work/Life Balance
During the small hours of the next day, presumably after returning home from a long day of work, Musk replied: “You think this is an option. It is not.”
Ford & Tesla are the only 2 American car companies to avoid bankruptcy. I just got home from the factory. You think this is an option. It is not.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 19, 2018
Strivers and Thrivers
Strivers
Elon Musk is by no means alone in setting audacious goals, and being fanatically obsessed with achieving them. His situation demands high expectations, and building consumer faith in the breakneck speed that he employs to achieve the seemingly impossible. Strivers can achieve great things, and attribute that performance to their unshakable belief in the importance of hard work. Strivers talk about “hustle”, as in putting in the right kind of effort, and when it comes to success, “hustle” is just another part of the equation.
Thrivers
Arianna Huffington, and her new startup Thrive Global represent the thrivers. Thrivers prioritize health, wellness, and relationships above work. Thrivers like Robert Owen and Karl Marx deserve credit for winning the eight hour workday, and now a new generation is pushing back against the memetic voluntary 80 hour work week. Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, took a stand against “hustle” culture at the Web Summit 2018 in Lisbon, and he’s asking others to think twice:
This story keeps going + growing.
— Alexis Ohanian Sr. 🚀 (@alexisohanian) November 23, 2018
Hustle till you make it? @Reddit & @Initialized co-founder says putting work above all else could be 'toxic' https://t.co/A2Xr7giYHq
Whitman's Idea
How much are we born this way, and how much do we learn along the way? Can we both understand ourselves and adopt the traits that best suit our circumstances – not blindly follow prevailing cultural norms or presume to know how others should live their lives? Can strivers and thrivers coexist? Can the two opposing worldviews be reconciled in the individual? Maybe that’s what Whitman meant, “If I contradict myself, very well then I contradict myself.” That was quite a supreme idea he had there.
