In startups, tech, and high-performance industries, there’s an unspoken rule: Move fast, hustle harder, and outwork the competition.

I lived by it.

Mark Zuckerberg’s famous mantra, “Move fast and break things,” wasn’t just a philosophy—it was printed on the walls when I joined Facebook in 2018. It was in our onboarding materials. It was the foundation of Silicon Valley’s obsession with speed, iteration, and disruption.

And I still believe in it—to an extent.

The ability to experiment, pivot quickly, and launch before perfection is essential for innovation. But over time, I saw the shadow side of this mindset—how speed, when abused, doesn’t just break products or industries.

🚨 It breaks people.

The Dark Side of Speed: When Hustle Becomes Harmful

In Move Fast and Break Things, author Jonathan Taplin critiques Silicon Valley’s addiction to rapid expansion at any cost. He argues that the industry’s growth-first, sustainability-later mindset has led to:

• Unsustainable business models that collapse under their own weight
• Creativity being sacrificed for short-term revenue and investor pressure
• Widespread burnout among founders, product teams, and employees

I experienced this firsthand at Meta and Shopify.

At Meta, my performance as a Product Manager wasn’t just measured by impact—it was graded on:

⚡️ How fast we launched new ideas

⚖️ How aggressively we scaled

📈 How much measurable innovation we drove

This led to an environment where teams rushed to push out features before fully validating them. I worked on high-stakes projects that impacted millions of users, and while iteration was encouraged, there was little room for slowing down and asking: Is this truly what people need?

At Shopify, the culture was slightly different—there was a strong focus on long-term thinking and empowering entrepreneurs. But even in this environment, the pressure to ship fast and scale faster created an underlying stress that wasn’t always acknowledged. There were times when teams felt stretched thin, pulled in too many directions at once, balancing rapid growth with ensuring the platform remained reliable.

The industry rewards speed, but what happens when the relentless push forward outpaces the humans behind it?

🚨 The invisible cost of “moving fast” isn’t just failed experiments—it’s human burnout.

⏳ The Alternative: Moving with Alignment, Not Just Speed

This isn’t about rejecting hustle or ambition. Some of the greatest breakthroughs in history happened through bold action, rapid experimentation, and relentless execution.

But moving fast only works when it’s aligned with sustainability, purpose, and well-being.

So how do you move fast without breaking yourself?

Step 1: Redefining Productivity Through Rhythm, Not Force

Western culture glorifies grind mode—working at full intensity, all the time. But Eastern systems recognize that energy flows in cycles.

🔹 The Ayurvedic Clock & Natural Energy Cycles

According to Ayurveda, our energy follows a daily rhythm that determines when we’re most productive, creative, and restorative:

• 6–10 AM (Kapha Time) → Grounding, physical movement, building momentum
• 10 AM–2 PM (Pitta Time) → Peak mental focus, best for deep work
• 2–6 PM (Vata Time) → Creativity, brainstorming, flexibility
• 6–10 PM (Kapha Time, Evening) → Winding down, preparing for rest

🔹 The Chinese Body Clock & Work Performance

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) also maps energy cycles based on organ function and natural rhythms:

• 7–9 AM (Stomach Energy) → Best time for fueling the body
• 9–11 AM (Spleen Energy) → Peak mental sharpness, deep focus
• 1–3 PM (Small Intestine Energy) → Processing, decision-making
• 7–9 PM (Pericardium Energy) → Ideal for relaxation and connection

Instead of forcing productivity all day, what if we worked with these natural rhythms?

🔹 Research Backing: The Science of Chronobiology

Chronobiology research confirms that our bodies operate on ultradian rhythms—90- to 120-minute cycles of peak focus followed by natural dips. Studies from Harvard Medical School suggest that aligning work schedules with these cycles can improve productivity and reduce burnout.

👉🏽 The takeaway? Instead of asking, “How can I work harder?” ask, “How can I structure my work to match my energy rhythms?”

Step 2: Avoid the Dopamine Burnout Cycle

One reason hustle culture is so addictive? Dopamine.

Dopamine—the brain’s “reward” chemical—fuels ambition, drive, and excitement for new ideas.

But when overused (constant achievement, notifications, external wins), it leads to:

🚨 Dopamine depletion → Low motivation, exhaustion, feeling “empty” despite success

🚨 Addiction to external validation → Only feeling accomplished when hitting new goals

🚨 Short-term thinking → Always chasing the next milestone instead of long-term vision

The Solution: Rebalancing Brain Chemistry for Sustainable Drive

✅ Deep Work & Flow States → Studies by Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi show that deep, immersive work naturally regulates dopamine levels, sustaining motivation longer.

✅ Intermittent Reward Systems → Instead of constant micro-rewards, space out dopamine hits—reward yourself after meaningful progress, not every small task.

✅ Serotonin & Presence-Based Joy → Dopamine is future-focused (chasing goals). Serotonin is present-focused (enjoying the moment). Practices like meditation, time in nature, and breathing exercises shift the brain from always needing more to appreciating now.

✅ Detach Identity from Achievement → Instead of thinking “I am only successful when I win,” train your brain to enjoy the process before the outcome.

Step 3: Work With Natural Seasons of Energy

Nature doesn’t operate at full speed year-round—so why do we?

🌱 Spring & Summer → Growth & Expansion → Best time for new projects, launching ideas, high-energy sprints

🍂 Autumn → Harvest & Reflection → Best time for refining, assessing, and adjusting

❄️ Winter → Restoration & Strategy → Best time for deep work, planning, and inner alignment

Startups ignore this. They expect constant Spring (new launches) and Summer (growth mode)—but sustainable success requires Autumn (evaluation) and Winter (rest).

Instead of asking, “How can I work harder?” ask:

• What phase am I in? (Growth, rest, refinement?)
• Am I forcing an unnatural pace?
• What would it look like to work with my energy, not against it? 

What If Moving Fast Didn’t Mean Breaking Things?

What if you still worked at high speed—without exhaustion?

What if you could chase ambitious goals—without sacrificing health?

What if you could stay driven—without dopamine addiction?

👉🏽You still iterate quickly—but with clarity and purpose.

👉🏽You still push boundaries—but without pushing yourself into exhaustion.

👉🏽You still scale rapidly—but in a sustainable way.

Because true success isn’t about moving fast—it’s about moving wisely.

💭 Are You Moving Fast or Moving in Alignment?

If burnout is the cost of your productivity, is it really worth it?

If stress, exhaustion, and detachment are signs of success, maybe it’s time to redefine what success means.

Because the real challenge isn’t just moving fast—it’s learning how to move with balance, purpose, and sustainability. ✨