The one Beyoncé-related thing that really irks me

"You have the same 24 hours as Beyoncé"

I seriously hate whenever I see that quote. 

Usually, it’s written in a scripted font, with a light pink background and white text, shared by yet another toxic-positivity-disguised-as-inspirational Instagram account. 

Other times, it’s shared by Arbonne & Monat and MLM representatives alike asking YOU how you choose to spend your 24 hours — ‘And wouldn’t you want to have more hours for the things you love???’ 

But see, hating this quote and idea has nothing to do with Beyoncé herself (because let's be real, we can all acknowledge her excellence), but more importantly with the IMMENSE amount of privilege that comes dripping with this statement. 

Anyone who tricks you into believing that you have the same amount of hours as Beyoncé has likely never lived with chronic illness, pain, or fatigue. 

They’ve probably never lived in affordable/low-income housing or had to solely depend on public transportation as a means of commuting. 

And they’ve almost never had to work three jobs, just to get out of the red — let alone make ends meet. 

Because if you’ve experienced any of those things, then you’d know the difference between high functioning hours and low functioning hours. You’d know the difference between being able to afford — in time, energy, and financially — the capacity to do more. 

See, as a society, the Western world is obsessed with productivity and meritocracy. The two combined create one of the greatest lies that were introduced by the colonization and supremacy that is embedded into our nation-states — that if you simply work hard enough, and maximize on the same hours that we all have, then success can be achieved by even you! 

But see, if we really all had the same 24 hours, then we wouldn’t see the truth behind the sales pages of the coaches/training/courses/classes that we choose to invest in, that promise us that “once you make this investment, you can finally take back your time.” 

The truth that’s hidden in that statement is that when you have the financial ability and mental energy to invest in you, then you have the ability to give yourself more hours than the “average” person has access to. 

Because we don’t all have the same hours. Instead, we only have the hours that we can afford, financially and in terms of capacity. 

I kept getting told that I needed a VA to help me with everything that was growing for MONTHS before I finally got one — and even when I did, it came at the cost of putting myself and my partner, quite frankly, real financial insecurity. But I didn’t tell anyone that.  

Because I needed the extra time in my day. We needed it. My health needed it. Our sanity needed it.

So I went ahead and decided to make that decision. 

But if it had failed? 

If something hadn’t worked out and we weren’t able to make it work? 

There’s no backup. There’s no safety net. No inheritances or generational wealth, no banks ready to give out loans due to the reality of our combined experiences as folks who have grown up as marginalized individuals. 

And while I’m glad it did, and continues to, work in our favour, I think about this often. About the additional pressures that weigh on marginalized individuals when we even attempt to push past all of the hard realities of our worlds. About the ways we are pressured to believe that we experience the same things as our privileged counterparts and internalize the pressure we put on ourselves when we’re not getting the same results — because we're obviously just not manifesting hard enough.  

Hah. 

Whenever I talk about meritocracy and its non-existence (because it truly does not exist in current society), I am often met with but what about ‘X’ person. 

And here’s the thing: 

If you’re someone who beats the odds, the statistics that add up against you, day after day...

Or you’re able to take just four functioning hours in a day and build something incredible...

And you’re a dreamer who understands your reality and is still motivated to push past it and create a new one (despite the systemic challenges you face)...

Then you deserve the BIGGEST of celebrations and an abundance of successes.

Not because you did it with the same equal opportunity we all supposedly have, or the same 24 hours we all seem to have access to— 

And THAT is something incredible.