It’s Monday. 6:42 AM.
Your eyes stay shut, but your phone lights up the room. You reach out for the phone instinctively and start scrolling —emails, Slack, calendar alerts. You can smell the coffee beside you, you feel the hot cup as you reach out without even looking at it, your eyes transfixed on that email.
No hesitation. Just that familiar hum in your chest: This is what matters. This is who I am.
They tell you this is “drive.”
The rush of a “Great job!” from your boss.
The way your crammed schedule makes you feel needed.
You forgot to eat, but your mind races with deadlines, metrics, the next big thing.
Across the office, or in the mirror—someone else is drowning.
Same phone. Same desk. Same relentless pings.
But their heart pounds differently.
Last night, they stared at the ceiling, stomach in knots.
The weekend felt like a timeout, not a reset.They rehearsed the guilt: Why didn’t I finish that report? Why can’t I just… stop?
Now they slump into their chair, dissolving into pixels.
Two people. One praised, one pitied.
We’ve twisted a sickness into a virtue.
We applaud the “hustler” and pity the “burnout,” but they’re just two sides of the same coin.
One’s rewarded, the other shamed—yet both are prisoners.
This isn’t about lazy vs. driven.
It’s about how our brains get hooked.
Science tells us addiction isn’t just drugs or alcohol. It’s any pattern we can’t quit, even when it hurts us.
Your brain doesn’t care if dopamine comes from a vodka shot or a closed deal at midnight.
Work. Praise. Notifications. The high feels the same.
So what does this look like in real life?
Let’s talk plainly:
Craving: Your office phone buzzes during your off hours and weekends. You check it.
Guilt: You feel guilty for applying for sick leaves and you don’t until its truly severe.
Withdrawal: Vacations leave you jittery, like you’re forgetting something. You have leaves pending, even expiring at year end.
Identity: When you introduce yourself, you slip in that designation; or when someone introduces themselves you are eager to know theirs.
Addiction doesn’t always look messy. Sometimes it’s polished.
It wins awards. Gets promotions. Posts #hustleculture inspo.
Until one day, you realize you’ve forgotten how to exist without your job title.
Let’s get real for a minute:
Have you ever postponed a dinner or a birthday celebration or anniversary to prioritize your work schedule?
Do you feel irritated when someone says “Just relax!” or when someone doesn’t show the same urgency to work?
Does guilt creep in when you’re not working or feel blank? You plan weekends to spend time with office colleagues and your after office conversations revolve around work?
Is your first thought at dawn about your to-do list? Do you sometimes dream about unfinished work?
If you nodded twice, you are an addict. This is the same CAGE model used to identify substance and behavioural addiction, curated for corporate.
They’ll tell you: “Work hard, and you’ll matter.”
But here’s the truth they won’t: You’ll never be “enough” for a system designed to drain you.
Your job isn’t the enemy.
The myth that your worth = your productivity? That’s the poison.
They’ll call it “dedication.”
Your body will call it “exhaustion.”
Your relationships? They’ll just call it “absence.”
There’s Another Way
This isn’t about meditation apps, forced “self-care” or a 30 min wellness session in your office.
It’s about rebuilding your life so work fuels you—instead of consuming you.
Think of it like this:
You need to strategize your marathons, from the first step you need to think how to finish first, but without burning out.
Sustainable success can be equally glamorous if strategized correctly. It’s:
Boundaries: “I’ll reply tomorrow” isn’t lazy—it’s strategic.
Purpose: Doing work that matters to you, not just your resume.
Rest: Not a “reward” for grinding, but a non-negotiable.
Tonight, Try This
Close your laptop before the sun sets.
Not because you’ve “earned it.”
Because you’re human.
Sit in the quiet.
Notice how the world keeps spinning.
Let your hands remember what it’s like to hold something that isn’t a phone.
They might call it “quiet quitting.”
You’ll call it “finally breathing.”
You’re More Than Your Output
Ambition isn’t the enemy.
But when your value gets tangled with your busyness? That’s not living.
That’s just… existing.
The bravest thing you can do today?
Stop proving.
Start being.
P.S. — You’re allowed to want both: A life that excites you, and a soul that’s still yours.
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