WHY IT’S TIME TO LET GO OF THE HUSTLE AND TAKE BACK YOUR LIFE

The badge of honor that comes with ‘hustling’ is misguided, often glorifying a culture of burnout culture. Know what it actually means, and find a simpler way to live life.


BY: AMANDA BOYER, MS, RDN, CD, CPT

I hate the hustle, and no, I’m not talking about the ’70s dance. 

I am talking about the use and abuse of the “hurry up and hustle” lifestyle. You know the one I’m talking about. You’ve probably fallen in line with it at some point.

Me too. I hustled through college, internships, and grad school. I hustled right into my career. 

I hustled until I couldn’t hustle anymore.

Now don’t get me wrong, a good work ethic is commendable and hard work is a necessary part of life. But hustling ourselves right into our grave is not only unnecessary but dangerous. In fact, the World Health Organization now officially recognizes the prevalence of burn-out culture, along with a stress epidemic that has resulted from it.

For those who are caught up in the hustle mentality, it’s of unpopular opinion to even think about slowing down. But it’s important to take a step back and reconsider what’s at stake.

Let’s first consider what the definition of hustle is:

verb

  1. Force (someone to move hurriedly or unceremoniously in a specified direction.
  2. Obtain by forceful action or persuasion

noun

  1. Busy movement and activity
  2. A fraud or a swindle

So by definition, it is a word that applauds the aggressive way we go about our goals.  

It takes the need for rest and self-care to not only be put on the back burner, but to be taken right off the stove while having all four burners on high heat with dishes boiling over.

This tends to happen because we’ve been conditioned to believe that if we do more and say yes to everything, we’ll get more gratification in life. But the truth is, we just end up tired and burned out.

There is no heart in the hustle, because the hustle drains you.

So if we start saying no to the hustle…what then? What would happen if you let go of something that you believe was fueling your progress? 

We’ll start to see that the world will still turn, and life still goes on. We’ll recognize that the present is all that we really have, and chasing the future keeps us away from all that is in front of us right now.

Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with being a go-getter and having a strong work ethic. We can still have hopes, dreams, and goals that we want to chase. We just don’t have to do everything.

And we certainly don’t have to do them all right now.

Adapted from the original post.

Amanda Boyer MS, RDN, CD, CPT is the wholehearted dietitian and owner of Wholehearted Nutrition located in southern Indiana. She strives to help others live life without holding back (her definition of what it means to live wholeheartedly), by walking with them in their journey to better their relationship with food, practice joyful movement, and settle into body peace. To learn more find Amanda at www.wholeheartednutrition.org, watch for her contributions on NASM’s blog and the Limestone Post, and follow her on Instagram and facebook @wholehearteddietitian.