Is this why you feel the need to be constantly productive?
Recently, I posted on TikTok about what I think the “productivity bros” are getting wrong (namely, their insistence on more, better, faster, and eking productivity out of every moment as their life’s purpose).
And I got a comment from a self-described “productivity bro” that humbled me a bit.
It stopped me in my tracks and made me think.
Because here’s what he said:
“I am one of those productivity guys that’s in the middle of burnout…It’s anxiety. What you see is untreated anxiety.”
I’m a little embarrassed that I didn’t think of this.
I was, quite honestly, being a bit judgy in that post about those productivity bros.
And, I’m sorry, because that’s not me and that’s not what I want to put out into the world.
I try to come to every interaction with compassion and non-judgment. It’s one of my goals to help rid the world of productivity-shame. But here I was, judging in the opposite direction.
What that random dude on TikTok made me realize (and never did I think I’d start a sentence that way, but here I am!) is that there’s shame on both sides.
The compulsively doing, and the not doing.
Look, toxic productivity IS a thing.
But, I think what I got wrong was where it was coming from.
So many of us have our self-worth wrapped up in productivity.
And we struggle with perfectionism in the pursuit of self-worth.
And that is a very anxiety-inducing combo.
So, to the productivity bros out there (and anyone else who needs to hear it), I want to say this:
It’s not your fault you feel the need to always be striving for more, better, faster (it’s capitalism’s!), and you have worth regardless of how productive you are.
We all have worth, simply for being. You, too.
And you don’t have to prove a goddamn thing to me.
What will it take to stop feeling like you have to prove so much to yourself?
