comment: >
  
  “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps” was originally something rich people said to make fun of poor people asking for help. The origins of the phrase is referring to an impossible task, literally trying to pull yourself upward by pulling up on your own bootstraps (for those unaware of the meaning of the rarely used term, think of the tag on the back of a pair of doc martens)
context: I agree that people should be in a mindset to be persistent, but I think “God helps those who help themselves” or “fortune favors the bold” may be more applicable. 
  Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps is literally impossible, and that phrase used to mean that very thing. From Wikipedia (I know, I know):
  In original use, often used to refer to pulling oneself over a fence, and implying that someone is attempting or has claimed some ludicrously far-fetched or impossible task. >
  
  This is going make people pop a forehead vein. >
  
  Agreed. It's a stupid saying to begin with seeing as the original context was talking about literally trying to lift yourself by pulling your bootstraps is impossible, but the meaning behind the phrase can be good advice. The world sucks a lot and it's sadly common to find yourself in tough situations, but no matter how much help you can get, self discipline and working hard can go a long way. >
  
  It's just that it's really pointless 'advice'. It's like telling a heroin addict to 'just not use heroin anymore', or a fat person to 'just lose some weight'. Like, no shit sherlock, they didn't need you to tell them that. If they knew how, they would have already done it. Not to mention it's usually said by priviledged people who have no idea what these struggles are like. >
  
  On its own, it is useless. “Hard work” doesn’t get you anywhere without knowing where to work/what to work on. >
  
  Working hard and persisting aren't the only things we need to do in order to improve our circumstances.  
  We also need to reach out for help and build strong support systems with other people. 
  Basically we can't pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. We need to lift eachother up together instead. >
  
  "Don't tell people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps! Just tell them to work hard. I'm sure that thought has never occurred to them." >
  
  Many if not most work hard. They just work hard at the wrong things. Or they work hard now but didn’t when they were 15-23 years old. Working hard to learn in-demand skills is critical when you are at the age where you actually have the opportunity. >
  
  This is way more true than a lot of people realize. Unfortunately, it usually becomes harder as you get older to learn those thing. Especially if you have children >
  
  First off, no, it won't necessarily result in a more secure and stable life. It might raise your chances, but it's no guarantee. And second, if it's not helping people stuck in tough situations then stop saying it to people stuck in tough situations. People aren't disagreeing with the idea that you should work hard, they're disagreeing with blaming people for their own poverty when they already work hard. >
  
  We're not rolling our eyes at the idea of persistence or hard work.
  We're rolling our eyes at the fact that you think this is a novel or brilliant idea, at least enough to bother sharing.
  It communicates a level of out-of-touch self-aggrandizement that is laughable. >
  
  In my experience hard work means being used by people. Sure that you can do the job. But don't go out of your way for your employer. Don't give up free time. And if they ask you for a favor you get something in return. There is exceptions to this however. But for the most part put yourself first. >
  
  The thing is what is this advice supposed to do?
  You really think "LOL well just try" is somehow too hard for people to grasp and they need you to come along with your obvious wisdom or it would just never occur to them?
  I know people like to think that the person sitting there with their hand on the hot stove, waiting for someone to come along and go "Just take your hand off the stove" is everyone with any problem ever, but most people aren't idiots and if they are asking they have already tried the obvious shit and it didn't work.
  Most people by the time they are asking you for advice have already tried "just taking their hand off the hot stove."  Give them the courtesy of assuming they are incompetent dullards.
  It's the worst kind of advice.  Useless to 99% of people and 1% of people who need are too stupid to listen.  It exists just for pompous, talking down pretending to be advice. >
  
  
  You really think "LOL well just try" is somehow too hard for people to grasp and they need you to come along with your obvious wisdom or it would just never occur to them?
  
  Actually, yeah.  Yeah I do think this.
  I've worked with and met many people in my day and I think this because so many people prove it to be true over and over. >
  
  I absolutely agree! >
  
  We're rolling our eyes because whoever is suggesting is implying we are all lazy bums waiting  for a handout. Yeah,  it's a good philosophy that most us are already trying our best to do. 
  Of course there are exceptions, and sometimes some tough love is needed to give  someone a kick in the butt, but that needs to come from friends and family,  not strangers on the internet. A whole internet diatribe about "people need to...." like that's the only problem out there is just lazy thinking. >
  
  Nah man, I was able to get where I am not because I "pulled myself up by my bootstraps," but because I was able to use a safety net provided by the federal government that cost me nothing out of my own paycheck.
  The same goes with every single billionaire ever. They have had a safety net as well, just in the form of financial help from family.
  While you still need some effort on your part, the majority of your success will come from help from others. This idea that you can make it in the world entirely by your own power is pure myth. >
  
  You can't tell that to most people.   They just want to bitch and moan about things while refusing to take any personal responsibility. >
  
  "It's a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself up by his own bootstraps." -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. >
  
  I think social media has made self importance reach an all time high, as well feeling in control over one’s life at an all time low. The most popular image on social media is the influencer who has everything with no work (but we all know it’s a facade). So the mindset is you have it, or you don’t, and if you don’t, “oh woah is me, look at this horrible position everyone but me put me in.” People just have this helpless attitude and refuse to grind it out to improve their lives, just wallow around in self pity till they die. >
  
  The system we live in was designed to keep you down at a certain point no matter how positive you are. Whatever adversity you think you've overcome is probably childs play compared to people with actual problems. >
  
  Sometimes before a person can pull themselves up by thier bootstraps, they need help getting the boots.... >
  
  The vast majority of people who are told some variation of this BS are already working hard and trying to pull themselves up. Of course we're going to roll our eyes and scoff, you're literally telling us to do something we're already in the process of doing. Instead of trying to help us, you're making obnoxious and unneeded observations that have already occurred to us >
  
  I see no mention of the fact that even bootstraps have become more difficult to grasp.  The rise in the cost of education, the stagnation of wages, and the percentages of employers willing to absolutely rape their employees is staggering!! Not to mention the fact that one trip to the ER can grease those bootstraps beyond the strongest grip!
  Forty years ago, you could pick up some ot and pay off those extra bills, now people are struggling with 2 or 3 jobs! >
  
  People who hate the saying also deliberately misunderstand the intentions behind it.  Literally, it means doing the impossible - and by the way, in hindsight a success story may look exactly like you achieved the impossible.  But the intetntion is to say that you gotta do some bold or really undesirable things to get ahead sometimes. >
  
  Sweet. This is going make people pop a forehead vein. >
  
  I think personal accountability goes a long way. Instead of always trying to blame someone or something else for the situation you’re in, take control of the things within your control and take baby steps. >
  
  It’s a very good mindset for individuals to have regarding their own behavior. It’s a lazy when politicians adopt this mindset as a justification for not using their power to improve society. If someone has a struggling small business, they should ask themself “how can I pull myself up by my bootstraps” and politicians should do what they can to make that easier. Personal responsibility doesn’t mean no government responsibility. >
  
  The thing is, it's physically impossible to "pull yourself up by your bootstraps," and the idea that the phrase is anything but blaming someone who already is doing all they can for their own poverty just shows that people don't think about what they say before they say it. >
  
  I completely agree. Often people are unfortunate and have things in life out of their control go against them.
  Ultimately though in many cases the best course of action is to push on as only you can change your situation.
  Somethings are obviously more complicated and nuanced which may require more support, knuckling under can sometimes be the best course of action. >
  
  I agree with the mindset. Don't agree with the system that makes it damn near impossible for people who uphold that mindset to not be able to afford the basic necessities without struggle.