Why I Reject “You Gotta Work Twice as Hard to Get Half as Much”
By Jaevonn Harris | May 19, 2025
“You gotta work twice as hard to get half of what they got.”
We’ve all heard it. Especially if you grew up Black, working-class, or under any kind of system that wasn’t built with your freedom in mind. But let me say this plainly:
I hate that saying.
Not because it’s false—but because it’s a trap. A mental leash disguised as motivation. A survival script that slowly chokes your spirit if you never question it.
Here’s why I reject it—and why you probably should too.
1. It Reinforces Survival Over Sovereignty
That quote doesn’t inspire excellence—it encourages exhaustion. It’s rooted in the idea that your life is meant to be a constant uphill battle against systems stacked against you.
But here’s the thing: I’m not here to survive—I’m here to thrive.
I don’t want to die proving I was good enough. I want to live being exactly who I am—unbothered, creative, free, and building my legacy without begging for entry.
9 to 5 is how you survive, I ain't tryna survive
I'm tryna live it to the limit and love it alive
If I’m chasing success to match what “they got,” I’m still letting them set the standard. I’m not interested in beating the system at its game—I’m rewriting the whole board.
2. It Teaches You to Perform Instead of Align
That mindset will have you doing things you hate, for people you don’t respect, in spaces that don’t nourish your soul—just to say you “made it.”
How many of us are stuck in jobs that drain us? Degrees we didn’t care about? Roles we weren’t built for? All because someone told us we had to “outgrind” injustice?
You don’t prove your worth by suffering.
You prove your worth by living in alignment and refusing to abandon yourself.
3. It Breeds Shame Instead of Strategy
If you don’t succeed under this mindset, you assume you didn’t work hard enough. But what if the game is rigged? What if the rules aren’t built for you? The quote doesn’t help you build your own playbook—it just says “try harder.”
I’m not interested in shame.
I’m interested in strategy—in working smarter, not just harder.
I’m about being multidimensional: lawyer, artist, rapper, businessman, dreamer, storyteller. I don’t fit in one lane, and I never will.
4. It Glorifies Pain Instead of Purpose
I don’t want my success story to be rooted in trauma. I’m not trying to be the mascot for struggle.
That quote implies that struggle equals merit, but I’m more than my suffering.
I want a life that’s soft, smart, luxurious, and joy-filled. I want the art, the freedom, the house with the marble floors, the jet ski in the garage—and I want it without sacrificing my peace to prove I earned it.
5. It Makes the Oppressor the Benchmark
Let’s be real: when you say “work twice as hard to get half,” you’re still centering whiteness, capitalism, and external validation. You’re still chasing the standard, not defining it.
But what if success isn’t about getting what they got?
What if it’s about reclaiming our time, rewriting our story, and resting without guilt?
I don’t want their seat at the table. I’ll build my own house, cook my own meals, and host my own dinner—with people who get it.
Final Thought:
I get why our predecessors said it. I get why they believed it. They were trying to protect us. But we’re in a different era now.
I’m not saying don’t work hard. I’m saying don’t let your hustle make you a stranger to yourself.
Because at the end of the day, success that costs your joy, your peace, and your sense of self ain’t success.
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