Hustle!
Hustle!
Hustle!
If I had a dollar for every time I have heard that word, I wouldn’t need to hustle!
Now, listen… this is actually not a post about how much I hate that word. Is it overused and misused? Sometimes, sure. But it’s also an accurate portrayal of how a lot of people desire to function. The definition of hustle is busy movement and activity. It honestly makes sense to use it in reference to most of my life – driving kids to school, running our business, selling our home, working part-time and, of course, getting all the housework and childcare duties done, too.
Wait, what? How is it possible for one person to do all those things that I just listed? Well, it’s not. I’m here to tell you that it’s impossible. And that hustling is hard. And, honestly? It’s not really worth it.
Everyone will tell us that if we just hustle hard, it will be worth it in the end. If we are just busy enough now, it will all pay off so that we can retire with ease.
If we just land that promotion, or get that new car, or move into a new house or neighborhood. If we just have a dream and try hard enough, we can make it happen.
And sometimes… that does work. Pursuing dreams and moving into new houses and landing promotions and buying a new car does take work. And it’s not always a bad thing.
But sometimes I see these stories of success and I sit down at my dining room table in my tiny house looking at the bills for the month and I wonder – what am I doing wrong? I AM hustling. I am putting my all into it. I AM busy. And yet… I haven’t found that so-called success and moment of fame. I keep telling myself that it’s just around the corner and that if I just do a few more weeks, a few more months, a few more years at this pace… I will reap a GREAT reward.
Friends, when I looked up the definition of “hustle,” I was surprised. “Busy movement and activity”. My brain thought, “that’s it?” That’s what I’ve been admiring and pursuing? Being “busy?”
And then it hit me all at once – what if I am missing the fact that I already have the reward? If the reward for hustling is success and ease from the busyness, why don’t I just chill out on the busy movement and activity right now and ENJOY right now? Now, I know that it might seem like I have all the answers to this problem. But, unfortunately, I don’t. I don’t know how to stop hustling and just let it be. I don’t know the delicate balance between working hard, having dreams, and being completely and utterly content with where I am right now.
But I do know that if you are feeling like your hustle is not paying off like they said it would… you are not alone. If you are staring at the bills and the house and the car and wondering why your work isn’t showing off into material possessions… you are not alone. Sometimes the reward during the hard times is the character that is built out of the hard times. Sometimes it’s time to just step off the hustle-treadmill and soak up everything that we have around us. Today – just for a moment, I encourage you to sit and just take it in.
