9 Work Ethic Lessons Gen-X Grew Up Learning That Younger Generations Could Really Use Today
lubomir satko | PexelsMy life is fun, but it's also pretty high-stress. The only real difference between my stress and other people's stress is that my stress is self-induced. But my daily routine, one where I spend several hours in the morning doing creative work, go to training, do some more creative work, lift, and then spend time with my girlfriend and go for walks under the Texas sun, is pretty attainable for anyone thoughtful, good at managing their time, and has a good internet connection.
Trust me, younger folks — I’m not that smart; I just learned some critical things about work ethic that have set me apart. You can figure this out too.
Gen-X learned these things about work ethic that younger generations could really use:
1. Don’t be afraid to put your back against the wall
My back was against the wall from the moment I moved to Texas until … okay, it’s still kind of against the wall sometimes. However, I put myself there. I am also more fulfilled professionally than I’ve ever been. I’m having more fun with Jiu-Jitsu training than I’ve ever had.
The reason I’m enjoying these things is not that there’s no pressure, but because there's more pressure. The absence of pressure leads to boredom. The presence of pressure leads to opportunity, improvement, and everything you’ve ever wanted. I promise. Don’t aim for a life with no pressure or anxiety; instead, aim for a mind able to overcome pressure and anxiety.
2. Three to four hours of deep work every single morning will set you free
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In January, I had a nightmare week. I was broke with no real prospects of turning it around, the city of Austin shut off my power because I owed them hundreds of dollars, food in my fridge was rotting, my apartment reeked of a foul stench, and I ended up stuck in a hotel feeling like my entire life was falling apart. When this happened, I didn't react well. After a day or two of wallowing, however, I got to work and turned things around.
One habit that I forced myself to commit to was a daily habit of long, focused work blocks. From when I wake up (around 8:30 a.m.) until I leave for noon training, I focus on creating content for myself and the clients I work for. This daily deep work habit has completely altered my life, and it’s only been four months.
3. Too much of anything makes you worse at everything
Right now, I’m doing about 5–7 Jiu-Jitsu sessions per week and 3 weight-lifting sessions per week. Between that and the aforementioned 3–4 hours of deep work every morning, I’m putting a lot of stress on my body and mind.
When I’m not careful about my recovery, I end up burning out. My work suffers. I train worse, learn less, and I'm irritable. Something I’ve learned to do is allow myself a mid-week carb-heavy meal now and then or just a light day when I’m in the middle of hard training and working. Playing the long game is essential. Progress comes from effort, but too much effort makes you worse. That’s the paradox any ambitious person has to deal with.
4. Your network is everything
I’m working with and for people who are doing things that I aspire to do as well. This is the beautiful thing about ghostwriting — you get paid to learn. I feel I’m creating more value by surrounding myself with people who offer something valuable to me. I invested thousands of dollars in trying to build a better network for my career. It seems to be working now.
5. Higher lows are a prelude to higher highs
As I’ve been working on my writing gigs, building the newsletter, working on my book, and trying to train myself, there have been a lot of ups and downs. Highs and lows. Victories and injuries. Viral posts and posts with one like from no one but my beautiful, supportive girlfriend.
What I’ve learned is that at the moment, no matter what level you are at, the lows all feel the same. Losing in the semifinals of the ADCC Trials hurts just as bad as losing in the round of 16. When I zoom out, I realize these higher lows are the best identifier of progress. Your expectations have risen to the point where the lows hurt the same, but your result is significantly improved. Lows always stink, but a higher low means that the higher high is incoming. Brace yourself.
“People focus more on reaching higher highs when the best signs of growth are higher lows.” — author Dan Koe
6. Outsource where you can
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This goes against my nature. I am stubborn, I like to control everything, and I never thought of myself as a team player or a user of trendy tools until recently. What I have come to accept and believe is that optimizing things for performance isn't cheating; it’s essential to taking your skills to the next level because you save time and therefore can focus more on what matters.
7. Build one highly effective skill to a highly effective level
Time is gold. With skills, you can make that gold into a gold necklace. The way you can control more of your time is by developing one skill to the level where you’re good enough at it that it pays for your things. For me, that skill has been writing.
I can make more money through writing (and thus have more control of my time) than a lot of people with more followers or bigger biceps can make because I’ve spent the last four years honing my skills. Sure, maybe I should be making more Instagram reels or TikToks, but obsessing over the skill of writing has brought more peace, opportunity, and happiness than winning any grappling match. That’s a hard truth. At this point, I’m honestly just grappling because I love it.
8. Have the audacity to believe you are worth pursuing something unconventional
There is an insane scarcity mindset. People are scared to invest in themselves because they don’t see a chance that they will be able to make that money back. But whatever you do in life — if you don’t believe that you are worth investing in, no one else will believe it either.
9. Set highly specific goals; otherwise, goals will be assigned to you
This is important. If you do not set specific goals for the things that you want to achieve in this life, you will end up pursuing the default goals set by your society, your parents, or whatever other influences you have. The freedom to create a highly enjoyable existence is possible, but only if it is deeply important to you.
Chris Wojcik is a writer, ghostwriter, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. His writing has reached millions of readers on sites like Medium and Quora, among others.
