there’s no glory in overworking

it’s just imminent burnout.

Mianya Ong
Startup Grind

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1. lost in ‘the hustle’

The 90 hour work weeks must have made me delusional, because working at my former company never felt... real. It was a dream I couldn’t believe, or a nightmare I couldn’t leave. Sometimes both.

Do something you love, never work a day in your life—that’s how the saying goes, right? And I loved my work. Truly, I did. But never working a day? The highs were high, the lows were low, it was nothing but work. I didn’t know something could be so tumultuous.

It was good. It was bad. It was toxic. It was exhilarating. And because I held on, it was also never ending. Friends and family told me repeatedly: cut your losses, let go. They didn’t understand; how could they? When you’ve invested so much of yourself into something, it’s easy — natural even — to develop a sort of tenacity and will yourself to stick it out. After all, you’ve come so far.

Was it healthy? Probably not. But goodness, isn’t it nice to believe?

Sleep is for the weak. Failure is a choice. There is only success, and those too lazy to achieve it.

I lived for the stress. If you weren’t stressed, you weren’t challenged. And if you…

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Mianya Ong
Startup Grind

writing to stay clever & retain my sanity 🙃 // musings on tech, startups, life, growth, self improvement // ong.mianya@gmail.com