Justin Bieber shared a string of deeply personal and reflective posts on Instagram, touching on everything from emotional burnout to the pressure of expectations.
In one of his latest updates, posted Sunday, June 8, Bieber admitted he’s “tired of transactional relationships,” but he no where mentioned his wife Hailey Bieber.
Alongside two black-and-white selfies, he wrote, “If I have to do something to be loved, that’s not love.” His words added to a recent wave of captions focused on themes like “forgiveness” and “flaws,” offering a glimpse into his current state of mind.
The 31-year-old singer also used his Instagram Stories to expand on his thoughts.
On Saturday, he posted a few selfies that showed him looking overwhelmed and emotional.
One snap featured Bieber with his hand over his head, paired with a caption that read, “This is how I feel after people keep telling me there’s more work to do after I’ve given everything I have to give. I don’t think any of us can handle hearing, ‘You just gotta try a little harder and you will be like me.’ It’s not true.”
In a follow-up message, Bieber spoke about how chasing approval through effort can be emotionally draining.
“I listened to those fools who told me to work harder. And there’s no end to trying to earn ur spot in this life because I tried. U have everything u need right now,” he wrote.
His posts then turned to a message of faith and perspective, encouraging others to shift focus from constant striving to deeper meaning.
“We wanna make our life about work so bad,” he wrote.
“But this life is about God. Loving us so we can love each other. Quit making ur life about work [shaking my head]. God will always inspire you to want to work harder. U think if you don’t tell people to work hard that they won’t. Stop playing God please.”
Bieber didn’t hold back in expressing the internal conflict he’s been wrestling with. “Conditioning will make u feel like u don’t know what the f— u knew,” he added in another Story.
He wrapped up his reflections with a final message about grace, faith, and the pressure to constantly improve.
“Jesus was always the answer to pain we are all facing,” he wrote.
“People still keep making me think if I work hard on myself I’ll be better like them. But the harder I work on myself, the more I think about myself. I thought the point was to think about one another? The only thing that helps me think about others to let go, not try harder. Join me in letting go of not trying harder.”
