1. Something Is Off In Sasstopia...
Mayor Tiggy receives briefing of rising levels of hustle culture toxicity in Sasstopia and is concerned.
Something Is Off In Sasstopia…
Meet Tiggy Turquoize. She is the fabulous mayor of Sasstopia. Mayor Tiggy is not your typical mayor. She is really a mayor for the people. She is always out-and-about in Sasstopia spending time with the citizens, but not in a photo-op, performative kind of way. She doesn’t have a large entourage that she travels with or a fancy vehicle that she drives because she feels like it is performative and takes away from valuable investments that can be made in the city. She prioritizes her own rest and self-care and you rarely see her burned out from working 24/7.
Mayor Tiggy is always monitoring the levels of toxicity in Sasstopia due to the hustle culture mindset that tells people to work hard, grind hard but offers nothing but exhaustion and burnout in return. You see, Sasstopia was built as a sanctuary for individuals, especially women, who were tired of showing up for everyone else but themselves. In Sasstopia, soft living is the mindset. Not the kind of soft life that only involves pampering, but the kind that sees people as full human beings that are capable of living life on their own terms, while also making a meaningful impact in society without sacrificing so much of themselves in the process.
In Sasstopia, quality of life is the priority. The citizens have 4-hour workdays and get paid enough money to live, work and play. The city has a variety of cultural events and activities to do throughout the week. They have a lot of community gatherings and they spend a lot of time volunteering outside of Sasstopia to help people in need.
They understand that there is a lot going on in the world and know that it is a privilege to live in a place like Sasstopia but also want to advocate and actively help others build their own sanctuary communities. That is why the news of rising hustle culture toxicity (HCT) levels is so concerning. She was notified by one of her aides, Machi Moxie, about these rising levels of hustle culture toxicity (HCT) and wonders if this is an ominous sign of things to come. Machi told her that the Sasstopia Office of Ease is preparing their report and will deliver it first thing in the morning.
The Deepest Ameilia tells her Denim Squad friends about what she overheard at the Office of Ease.
Meanwhile, The Deepest Amelia was at Clock It! Café with her Denim Squad friends and told them about the conversation she overheard at the Office of Ease. She went there on her way to school to drop off her mother’s phone that she forgot at home. She thought that it was odd because her mom doesn’t normally bring her phone to work. At the café, Amelia told her friends that she overheard people whispering about rising levels of HCT but her mother quickly rushed her out of the office and told her to keep quiet and that there isn’t any cause for concern. Being the teen that she is, she didn’t listen and ran to Clock It! Café to share the news. She told her squad to consider wearing masks because teens are most vulnerable to rising HCT levels, especially as they prepare for life after high school. Though Sasstopia’s educational system is focused on creating immersive experiences for students to learn valuable life skills, some students still worry about life after high school, especially if they only recently moved to Sasstopia.
Mayor Tiggy heads over to the Sasstopia Office of Ease to pick up the report on hustle culture toxicity levels (HCT).
Not one to wait for bad news, Mayor Tiggy headed over to the Office of Ease the next day to pick up the report. The Office of Ease reports on a few key indicators of soft living:
Economic: Monitors the job market to ensure that people still have their jobs; are making good money and that the cost of goods only rise at levels lower than rises in income. Sasstopia was intentionally made as an affordable place to live, work and play.
Technological: Monitors innovations in technology that we use to manage our work and daily lives as well as usage levels of social media, smart phones and other aspects of digital usage . In Sasstopia, people don’t shy away from advances in technology, but they understand that there has to be a balance to prioritize offline interactions.
Social: Monitors social interactions to make sure that people are spending time with themselves, with loved ones and in their community. In Sasstopia, showing up for themselves, first, so that they can show up for their community is the priority.
Cultural: Monitors diversity and inclusion levels, making sure that no one group of people, regardless of their background gets treated better than the others. In Sasstopia, the diversity of people and ideas is celebrated. There are no political parties in Sasstopia and everyone has to perform some level of public service.
Whenever these key indicators are not balanced, there is cause for concern. Small spikes in HCT levels in any of these areas are normal because life happens, but there are a lot of measures in place, in Sasstopia, to ensure that minor HCT level changes are addressed. The report is showing a larger than usual spike in the economic indicators. Citizens of Sasstopia are hearing about all the things happening in other parts of the world as it relates to the job market, continued rising cost of goods and just how unaffordable things are. On the surface, it is not an immediate cause for intervention, but it’s something that needs to be carefully monitored.
She’ll give it a week to see if things change. What would you do if you were Mayor Tiggy Turquoize and noticed a rise in HCT levels? Want to have some fun? Download the Sasstopia Check-in: Don’t Let Hustle Win worksheet to give Mayor Tiggy some advice and also reflect on what you would do to decrease rising levels of hustle culture toxicity in your own life.
Curious about the story behind the story? Check out my latest Hustle Rewritten Substack, The Rewrite Begins, where I begin to plan for rewriting the hustle in life, work and in society. Explore the world of Sassy | Chic | Geek, check out our content here on Substack, on YouTube and Pinterest. We occasionally post on IG and Facebook.
Ready to start your year of ease? Download the Hustle Rewritten Year of Ease Collection. Get prompts, soft life planning tools and a 2026 annual planner to help you plan a hustle-free year!