Anonymous
Post 06/15/2026 09:21     Subject: Re:Grinders and strivers and curators, oh my!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:a striver is viewed as someone sacrificing their mental health, relationships, and social life for an unfulfilling, endless chase for status


Sacrificing the mental health of a nosy busybody, maybe. Only people obsessed with status cry about strivers, people who supposedly don’t deserve their status. Other people don’t see people that way.

Elon Musk is a fraud and a creep and a hateful bigot with dragon sickness. I don’t need to call him a striver to name his flaws.


You could use 20 words or just call it what it is a striver. Also Musk is not a striver he is a nepo baby and a sociopath. He exploits strivers, like the kids he used in DOGE to destroy lives.

I have one brother who was a striver and watched him slowly lose his life to depression. Top engineering school , top law school, law partner and a totally 2nd business and also a small 3 rd business. Saw his kids a few hours a week. Crashed and burned.

I have one son who is a striver and I warn him against the pursuit for material things for no other reason to have a bunch of material things. Slowly he is realizing there are happy people living simple lives everywhere he doesn’t need to live in manhattan to be happy.

I have a ton of examples in my extreme large Irish Catholic family of strivers and people who are just happy to live simply without losing themselves.


My striver Irish Catholic grandparents and parents absolutely pursued money and material things over their personal passions. That’s how they went from poverty to upper middle class in a few generations. I don’t lose sight of that.

Anonymous
Post 06/15/2026 09:15     Subject: Re:Grinders and strivers and curators, oh my!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:a striver is viewed as someone sacrificing their mental health, relationships, and social life for an unfulfilling, endless chase for status


That is not what a striver is. As striver is someone that works hard. That is all. Anything else is made up.


So if not “striver,” what word can we use to describe “someone who sacrifices their mental health, relationships, and social life for an unfulfilling, endless chase for status”?

Or are you trying to argue that the chase for status is always fulfilling for every participant and never damages anyone’s mental health or relationships? Because, lol.


A social climber.
Anonymous
Post 06/15/2026 09:05     Subject: Grinders and strivers and curators, oh my!
I always defined a grinder as someone that works hard through uncomfortable short term gain (positive connotation) and a striver as someone striving solely for personal benefit (via status or wealth) for its own sake (negative connotation).

No idea what a curator is.

It funny how two people can have the definitions of striver and grinder complete 180s from each other.
Anonymous
Post 06/15/2026 09:02     Subject: Grinders and strivers and curators, oh my!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Nothing wrong with it, just that some posters mock others because of their own insecurities


ding ding ding
first response, correct answer

People trying to tell you that trying is for losers are stuck in their own victim mentality. Their inability to succeed is everyone else's fault. Not because they don't want to put in the effort. So they have to mock those who do.


No one on this thread is doing the bolded. You don’t need to invent things.
Anonymous
Post 06/15/2026 08:35     Subject: Grinders and strivers and curators, oh my!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Don’t we have a generation of kids who can’t read or count? What striving?

Holy non sequitur, Batman!


That's not a non sequitur. That's bringing up the relevant point that we have so many students not even at baseline and that no one should be worrying about kids who actually try (IMHO).

Still a non-sequitur. Most SAT-takers have always scored below 1200. Most Americans don’t have college degrees. That’s never stopped top American schools from enrolling much higher-performing cohorts.
Anonymous
Post 06/15/2026 08:11     Subject: Grinders and strivers and curators, oh my!
Anonymous wrote:Nothing wrong with it, just that some posters mock others because of their own insecurities


ding ding ding
first response, correct answer

People trying to tell you that trying is for losers are stuck in their own victim mentality. Their inability to succeed is everyone else's fault. Not because they don't want to put in the effort. So they have to mock those who do.
Anonymous
Post 06/15/2026 08:09     Subject: Grinders and strivers and curators, oh my!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Don’t we have a generation of kids who can’t read or count? What striving?

Holy non sequitur, Batman!


That's not a non sequitur. That's bringing up the relevant point that we have so many students not even at baseline and that no one should be worrying about kids who actually try (IMHO).
Anonymous
Post 06/15/2026 07:48     Subject: Grinders and strivers and curators, oh my!
Anonymous wrote:In the real world it would be wild how strongly some people are trying to defend these terms from having a negative connotation given that the terms are not being directed at any one person in particular. But it’s DCUM so I guess these terms hit too close to home. I guess you can add to the striver definition a hyper defensiveness at having their behavior pointed out to them.


Exactly. These people are totally lacking self-awareness and way too defensive. And tend to be know-it-alls. Hence the defensiveness.
Anonymous
Post 06/15/2026 06:57     Subject: Re:Grinders and strivers and curators, oh my!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:a striver is viewed as someone sacrificing their mental health, relationships, and social life for an unfulfilling, endless chase for status


That is not what a striver is. As striver is someone that works hard. That is all. Anything else is made up.


It’s exactly what striver is.

You’re talking about hard working people. They exist in every aspect of life.

You don’t call a coal miner a striver, do you?
Or a coal miner?
Or a caterer?
Or a teacher?
Or a cop?
Or a marine?
Or a longshoreman …

No even though it very hard work with long hours. Why? Status.
Anonymous
Post 06/15/2026 06:54     Subject: Grinders and strivers and curators, oh my!
In the real world it would be wild how strongly some people are trying to defend these terms from having a negative connotation given that the terms are not being directed at any one person in particular. But it’s DCUM so I guess these terms hit too close to home. I guess you can add to the striver definition a hyper defensiveness at having their behavior pointed out to them.
Anonymous
Post 06/15/2026 06:52     Subject: Re:Grinders and strivers and curators, oh my!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:a striver is viewed as someone sacrificing their mental health, relationships, and social life for an unfulfilling, endless chase for status


Sacrificing the mental health of a nosy busybody, maybe. Only people obsessed with status cry about strivers, people who supposedly don’t deserve their status. Other people don’t see people that way.

Elon Musk is a fraud and a creep and a hateful bigot with dragon sickness. I don’t need to call him a striver to name his flaws.


You could use 20 words or just call it what it is a striver. Also Musk is not a striver he is a nepo baby and a sociopath. He exploits strivers, like the kids he used in DOGE to destroy lives.

I have one brother who was a striver and watched him slowly lose his life to depression. Top engineering school , top law school, law partner and a totally 2nd business and also a small 3 rd business. Saw his kids a few hours a week. Crashed and burned.

I have one son who is a striver and I warn him against the pursuit for material things for no other reason to have a bunch of material things. Slowly he is realizing there are happy people living simple lives everywhere he doesn’t need to live in manhattan to be happy.

I have a ton of examples in my extreme large Irish Catholic family of strivers and people who are just happy to live simply without losing themselves.
Anonymous
Post 06/15/2026 06:13     Subject: Re:Grinders and strivers and curators, oh my!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:a striver is viewed as someone sacrificing their mental health, relationships, and social life for an unfulfilling, endless chase for status


That is not what a striver is. As striver is someone that works hard. That is all. Anything else is made up.


So if not “striver,” what word can we use to describe “someone who sacrifices their mental health, relationships, and social life for an unfulfilling, endless chase for status”?

Or are you trying to argue that the chase for status is always fulfilling for every participant and never damages anyone’s mental health or relationships? Because, lol.
Anonymous
Post 06/14/2026 23:10     Subject: Re:Grinders and strivers and curators, oh my!
Anonymous wrote:a striver is viewed as someone sacrificing their mental health, relationships, and social life for an unfulfilling, endless chase for status


That is not what a striver is. As striver is someone that works hard. That is all. Anything else is made up.
Anonymous
Post 06/14/2026 23:08     Subject: Grinders and strivers and curators, oh my!
Anonymous wrote:Don’t we have a generation of kids who can’t read or count? What striving?

Holy non sequitur, Batman!
Anonymous
Post 06/14/2026 23:03     Subject: Grinders and strivers and curators, oh my!
Anonymous wrote:Don’t we have a generation of kids who can’t read or count? What striving?

Therefore, those who can are strivers.