by Dr. Cindy Briggs

We have all heard it… you have to HUSTLE to get your dreams! There are literally hundreds of links, books, podcasts, and articles about how you can “add hustle to your life and make your dreams come true.” We are told if we just work harder, do more, give it our all every single day— we can make “it” happen.

When did HUSTLE become a positive inference? If we look at the definition of “hustle”— it says, “force (someone) to move hurriedly or unceremoniously in a specified direction”, and “obtain by forceful action or persuasion”, and also a “busy movement” or this is the best, “a swindle!” Hustle is NOT positive.

Here is what happened— self help books started selling us on the fact that we weren’t doing enough. We weren’t putting “grit” into our dreams, and we weren’t wanting it enough. Is that really true? As a society did we just get lazy? I am going to argue that we didn’t. Instead, we started comparing. It seems like he does it better, or she has more than me. Hey wait, we are in the same industry and they are making millions and I am not. Social media started getting very noisy with YOU NEED TO DO MORE!

As entrepreneurs, we think we have to be on social media every minute, we have to have individual coaching groups, come up with more products, create sales funnels, and create, create, create. I often feel like I am the mouse on a wheel that is going nowhere. We can actually be LESS productive, and make LESS money– even though we are going “mock chicken.”

Ok friends… do I believe in hard work and dedication to your dreams? ABSOLUTELY! However, I am going to tell you to stop the hustle. Stop feeling like you are behind. Stop thinking that you just have to constantly do more. What about this…. try stopping. I didn’t say quitting, but I said stopping. Take a walk, take a nap, get on the floor and play with your kids, cook dinner, watch a movie…. whatever it looks like for you to take a break.

We need to push back on the culture of do more. I have written before how I hate the word “busy”. We all have the same amount of time– and we all make our individual choices how we spend that time. The word and concept of “hustle” is right up there in my book of NO’s! I don’t want to “hustle”, and I don’t want to be “busy”. I want to be present, I want to be creative, and rested. I want my priorities to make sense.

Let me tell you a little secret– I started this blog post over a YEAR ago— and I just walked away. I needed to take a break. I needed to practice what I am preaching and stop the hustle. Did I make a ton of money in my break— NO! You know what I did make… better connections with my family and my friends. I had peace of mind, heart, and spirit.

I want to encourage you at any point in your “hustle” to stop. It is OK to take care of you.

#cindybriggsphd #stopthehustle #entrepreneuriallife