What Makes A True Rebel?

Confronting Hurry Culture with Deliberate Slowness

Hi, I’m Claudia. I help you face a hurried world with greater confidence in your “Power of Slow.”

You are reading the sub-section SlowPOWER of the publication Un-Rush-The Power of Slow in which I demonstrate the absurdity of rushing and make you realize how slowing down benefits your life and work.

Don’t be shy to share it with fellow rebels against the hurry culture and click the❤️ button, so more people can discover it on Substack. Thank you!

What Makes A True Rebel?

Confronting Hurry Culture with Deliberate Slowness

I have never considered myself a rebel. But I know my values and what I like and don’t like. And I know how I want to live my life. And the constant demands for more, faster, and now aren’t part of it. So perhaps I am a rebel against what gets imposed on me.

And so I am exploring what it truly means to "rebel" against our society's hurry culture. Let’s take a look.

THE REBEL IN YOU

What makes a rebel?

To be a rebel means to be someone who knows who they are.

• They know what they stand for and what not.

• They know what their thing is and what not.

• They know what they like and what they despise.

• They are for this and not for that.

That’s why they rebel against the thing they don’t believe in. They want to create a life on their terms – take matters into their own hand. Choosing a path based on their own values or understanding. It's about questioning "the way things are" and asking if they truly serve us well. And that often means to rebel against those who want to push them into the everybody-else direction.

True rebellion differs from mere complaint or cynicism. It involves conscious awareness of the system you're pushing against, a clear alternative vision or set of principles, deliberate action that embodies your alternative approach, and accepting potential consequences of standing apart.

A rebel in the context of hurry culture is someone who:

• Consciously rejects society's demand for constant productivity, urgency, and busyness

• Questions and challenges the prevailing assumption that faster, higher, and further is always better

• Makes deliberate choices to slow down, even when external pressures push for acceleration

• Values presence, depth, and meaningful experience over efficiency and quantity

• Creates personal boundaries around time and attention, often going against social norms

• Seeks to reclaim autonomy over their own time and rhythms rather than conforming to external expectations

• Demonstrates courage in saying "no" to the constant pressure to do more in less time

Seth Godin, who often speaks of "making a ruckus," frames rebellion as creating meaningful change that challenges accepted norms. True rebellion isn't just disruptive—it's purposeful disruption aimed at creating something better. It stems from seeing clearly what others have accepted without question.

Cal Newport approaches rebellion through his focus on "deep work" and digital minimalism, directly challenging our culture's obsession with constant connectivity and distraction. His rebellion isn't loud or flashy, but methodical and principle-based: rejecting the shallow work that dominates modern professional life in favor of focused, meaningful contribution.

THE SYSTEM WE'RE REBELLING AGAINST

The world is rushing, and as a consequence, it is crushing our lives. This is how the hurry-culture looks and what has been normalized:

• The glorification of busyness ("I'm so busy" as a status symbol)

• The collapse of boundaries between work and rest

• The expectation of instant responses and constant availability

• The commodification of time as something to be "spent" or "saved"

• The persistent feeling that we're falling behind

This system is fundamentally reshaping our humanity. As philosopher Byung-Chul Han notes:

the "achievement society" transforms us into self-exploiting productivity machines, where we become both slave and master simultaneously.

THE REBEL'S ALTERNATIVE VISION

Rebelling against hurry culture means becoming aware of your values and principles and then embracing a countercultural relationship with time. Here are some aspects to consider.

• Knowing your values that serve as your compass for your goals and daily life

• Valuing presence over productivity

• Embracing the wisdom of "enough" rather than endless more

• Creating deliberate spaces for contemplation and rest

• Measuring your success by depth and meaning rather than output or speed

• Reclaiming attention as your most precious resource

As journalist Oliver Burkeman writes in "Four Thousand Weeks":

true time management isn't about squeezing more activities into your day but about facing the finitude of existence and choosing where to place your limited attention.

SMALL PRACTICAL ACTS OF REBELLION

As a rebel, you act. Here are some suggestions on how you can take some small steps to rebel against hurry culture:

• Try to practice strategic incompleteness. Deliberately leave certain tasks undone (I have a hard time with that one. We, and even more so the others, impose way too many ToDos on us, and we just accept it).

• Design your digital environment in a way that it fits and serves your values (for example, I never put my phone in the bedroom and only pick it up in the morning after I have had my quiet time for myself).

• Focus on fewer things with greater depth ("slow productivity").

• Seriously, schedule some unstructured time, protect it, and use it as space for wandering thoughts and reflection

• Cultivate stillness and inner patience, for example, when waiting in line, don’t follow the urge to reach for your phone

These are all small but powerful acts of rebellion you can implement for yourself. It’s about building your inner rebel and strength so that you will no longer allow external demands to dictate your life rhythm.

THE COURAGE TO REBEL

Are you ready to rebel? You need to be aware that rebellion comes with strings attached. It has consequences. When you step outside the pressure of a hurry culture, you may face uncomfortable reactions. From your inner devil’s voice and from society:

• Facing social pressure for not conforming to "normal" productivity

• You might get some FOMO and comparison anxiety

• Feeling uncertain about your identity beyond your “productivity” and outputs

• Having rising challenging questions about what truly matters

Life starts beyond the comfort zone. This is where rebellion requires courage. Your willingness to stand up for your values and to stand apart from the rushing sheep herd. Think about your values, and you might want to decide to endure discomfort for the sake of something more valuable.

STANDING UP AGAINST THE HURRY CULTURE

This is a different kind of revolution.

Rebelling against hurry culture isn't about dramatic gestures but about quietly reclaiming your humanity and your personal rhythm in a system designed to turn you into a function. It's a revolution of presence, attention, and meaning.

As poet Mary Oliver asked

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" The rebel's answer isn't to fill it with more activity, but to fill it with more life—a radical concept in our hurried world.

The true rebel recognizes her values and life visions and stands up for them, quietly going against the rushing mainstream.

Here’s to the rebels against a rushing world!