Bro, Take A Break

Grind Less, Shine More

Astute followers of this blog and my Twitter may have noticed that I haven’t really written anything over the last ~2 months.

Was it because of laziness? Nah. I was still reading, studying, and thinking, just not writing.

Was it because I fell out of love with crypto? Although I am more pessimistic about its future than before, I definitely have not fallen out of love.

So what, then?

The answer is that I was upset after breaking up with my now ex-girlfriend of 3 years. As far as breakups go, it wasn’t the type where I’m praying on her downfall, but at the same time, I wouldn’t be mad if she were to step on a lego or drop her phone into the toilet.

Point is, I was upset enough that I was incapable of writing something worth reading.

Now, if you’re part of my usual crypto bro demographic, you probably think I’m the biggest pussy on the planet. In a world so dominated by hustle culture, the idea of taking time off because you’re upset is treasonous.

You know the drill. Crypto never sleeps. Nights and weekends. Keep pushing because some psychopath is out there snorting lines and stalking the 1-minute chart.

The sad part is that even though I’m making fun of hustle culture, I’ve been living it my whole life. As has anyone around my age (24) who has gone to a good college. We’re conditioned from the womb to grind day and night for the right to pay $200k for an entirely Google-able education. Then, once in college, it becomes a race to land a job that can pay off that education before our hair falls out.

It’s a fucked-up world, but them’s the breaks.

The truth is, for a lot of people, they should be hustling as hard as they can. If you’re a student, a banker, a lawyer, a consultant, a crypto analyst, or 99% of other jobs, you need to put in as many hours as you can without completely burning yourself out. Why? Because it’s a battle of attrition. The only thing that really separates you and other people is how much you produce. If you don’t grind your ass off, you’ll fall behind the guy who does.

However, if you’re a writer or work in some other role where you are producing creative content, grinding harder only helps half the time. Why? Because what separates you from your peers is the quality of your work. Grinding to ensure that your work is of the highest quality possible is time well spent. It becomes detrimental when the words aren’t flowing. Banging your head against the wall isn’t going to get you unstuck. Trust me, I’ve tried.

Besides being a waste of time, trying to grind your way out of a slump just isn’t good for your writing career. As a writer, your reputation is everything. Potential clients and employers judge you based on your portfolio. In this world, you’re better off writing nothing than something shitty.

So seriously, if you’re a writer who is stuck for whatever reason, just take a break. Writing is hard enough as is. Don’t try to jackhammer your way through a slog. I promise you, the only thing that will lead to is frustration and a torpedoed reputation. You’re much better off coming back later with a fresh mind.

There will be plenty of time to grind in the future. As a writer, you need to know when to press the gas and when to press the brakes. I had to put the car in park these last two months. It sucked, but it’s what I needed. 

Now, it’s time to floor it.