The Courage to Slow Down
Why is everything so rushed?
When did quick become the standard of desires?
Why is fast-paced given authority over a slow and steady flow?
It’s time to detox from grind culture.
It’s time to rest.
-Tricia Hearsey, Creator of The Nap Ministry
Wellness is on the rise globally. Regardless of race, economic status, ability, gender, and sexual orientation, people are becoming increasingly tired of the grind and are seeking greater well-being. The wellness industry is worth 1.5 trillion dollars as people are collectively making the shift to prioritizing a well-rounded lifestyle.
Research shows that mindfulness, yoga, and living an overall healthy lifestyle can do wonders to mitigate stress and anxiety, and yet, the further away you are from being wealthy and white, the harder these services are to access and consistently practice.
Racial Inequality and the Spirit of Slavery
In 2015 I traveled to the African continent for the first time. I went to Ghana to volunteer to support with a general high school English class. This was when Black Lives Matter was in full swing, and I was eager to get the heck out of the States and reimagine life outside of white supremacy.
Although the school I worked at was two hours away from Cape Coast slave castle, where so many Africans were captured and taken by force across the sea, my students were never taught about the legacy of what happened once their ancestors left the continent. Time and time again I was told how lucky I was to be American. They all wanted to move here. They saw America as so great. I told them, “America is so great because your ancestors helped build this country. America is so great because of the greatness of Africa.”
Although I was hired to teach English, I changed course with my teaching after that conversation. I started teaching African American history: Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Marcus Garvey, 2pac, Malcolm, Audre Lorde. I needed them to hear our stories. On one of my final days of teaching, one student made a profound statement “Slavery is over but the spirit of slavery continues.” Chattel slavery is over and yet it’s spirit haunts and permeates our society on a variety of levels, and our attitude around work and productivity is no exception.
Black and Latinx Americans have some of the worst sleep quality in the country, and Black people living below poverty are twice as likely to report serious psychological distress than those living 2x over the poverty level. Meanwhile racial disparities can cause increased stress and anxiety and negative health outcomes for people of color.
Race, Capital, and The Need to Produce
The first slave ships landed in North America (aka Turtle Island) in 1619 and initiated the centuries-long travesty known as American chattel slavery. Psychologist and historian Dr. Joy Degruy describes American chattel slavery as “a case of human trauma not comparable in scope, duration, and consequence with any other incidence of human enslavement.” As I outline in my upcoming book, The Grind Culture Detox, the current corporate sales quotas that we’ve come to normalize as a common sense fact of life are rooted in chattel slavery. When we study the effects of American chattel slavery, we must consider the symbiotic relationship between land and labor. The United States would not have its level of power and positionality without chattel slavery. Shortly before the Civil War, the number one cash crop was cotton. As labor sped up, landowners and law makers needed to acquire land at much quicker rates to keep up with demand. New York Times’ 1619 Project podcast sheds light on how American chattel slavery created a system of management that can still be found in multinational corporations today. In order for the system of slavery to grow at such a rapid rate, it required intricate systems of control including hierarchical structures of multi-level management and streamlined structures of supervision and control. Enslaved Africans and slave masters had quotas to meet in order to feed this vicious system of capitalism.
The Courage to Heal from Grind Culture
A few years ago, I had the honor of hearing Dr. Joy Degruy speak about her extensive research on Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome. One thing that she noted was once the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, no therapy was offered for people to heal from the horrors of slavery. There was a great deal of planning around how the country would recover economically after slavery was abolished, but no thought was given over the mental and emotional well-being of the victims of slavery, along with its perpetrators. Instead, the U.S. government chose to grind it out, and we the people continued to work. There was no time for healing, because if we didn’t work, we wouldn’t eat.
Grind culture refers to the false belief that to be considered valuable or worthy in our society, one must be productive. Lurking in the shadow of capitalism, grind culture is accepted as normal, even necessary, and most people aren’t even aware of the harmful ways it impacts us. One of grind culture’s side effects is that it has conditioned us to view work as our most significant accomplishment. The more productive we are, the more worthy we are seen in society.
At some point though, you must treat healing like your life depends on it, because it does. The first step to healing from grind culture is to reclaim your right to rest. You are worthy of rest, and you are worth more than what you are able to produce.
-Heather Archer
Heather Archer is an author, workplace wellness coach, and sound healer who helps others achieve liberation through reimagining their relationship with work and productivity. Learn more about her online workshops, book, curriculum materials, speaking engagements, and sound healing sessions at www.thrivingwithheather.com.