ORDER YOUR COPY

TWENTY

THE HAMSTER WHEEL OF LIFE

It is becoming more common for people to feel like they are doing everything and yet getting nowhere. They are putting in the work, they are doing everything they are told they “should,” yet the ideal life they dreamed of is nowhere in reach and they aren't getting closer by doing more work.

What was once considered the rat race is now the hamster wheel of life. People are spinning their wheels going round and round in the system by never earning enough to get ahead and ultimately get off the “wheel.”

The rat race was a term used to describe everyone, as in everyone in the herd, racing against each other to make it. The saying also highlights that it was a race, indicating that some did win and beat the others. 

This era is said to have begun with the dissolution of the nuclear family and the beginning of the disappearance of the middle class. Once upon a time, the family could afford to have one person work, one raise happy kids that then become happy contributing adults to the world, own a new car and have a picket fence around their home. Not anymore. The end of the nuclear family era was actually the true turning point to the world we will live in soon. The average teenager can’t expect to have any of that by just working hard, let alone going to school, getting a degree, and achieving a job in their field of study. It’s unrealistic now. The reward is no longer there.

How Did Everyone Get Stuck On The Hamster Wheel Of Life?

The law of diminishing returns applies to work where the rewards stop at a certain point and people are stuck on the hamster wheel of life. It refers to the experience of the middle class, where the rewards for their work and efforts have decreased over time. As a result, people are stuck on a hamster wheel, working harder and longer and longer hours but not seeing any significant rewards or progress. They may feel like they are just participating instead of winning, as their efforts no longer lead to the same level of success and upward mobility as they did in the past. 

The dissolution of the middle class and the changing landscape of work have made it harder for people to achieve their dreams and find fulfillment in their work. The middle class has gone, and the next decade will annihilate it. They never get a moment off. They're working 24/7. And they can't even have the basic rewards. Many were sold the dream – if they do X they can expect to achieve X in life, except that carrot is gone and instead of pushing through many are giving up and settling.

This can lead to a sense of frustration and disillusionment with the system, as people feel as though they are not getting ahead despite their hard work and efforts, ultimately leading to individuals to eventually “resign.” What do I mean by resign? I do not mean resign from their “jobs,” I mean resign from life. As in, they stop trying to get ahead or break out of the system because they become discouraged and accept their placement in the herd and their fate of the status quo on the hamster wheel of life.

Now is it the people's fault they are not getting ahead? In my opinion, no.

I believe the growing numbers of those stuck at lower levels in the game is and was purposely created through conditioning, conditioning that I believe is now being trained on the younger generations at an alarming rate. 

Why is it becoming more common for children not to receive grades in school? Or for track and field day to no longer have winners – instead everyone gets a badge just for participating?

If you do not have a strong foundation with the right training for endurance in the Game of Life you will get stuck on the hamster wheel, participating but never going anywhere.

ORDER YOUR COPY