The Truth About Hustling

A NOTE

In a conversation with a friend, she brought up how she feels like she needs to HUSTLE in her business. She followed it up with, “I know you don’t believe this, Amber. Change my mind.”

And if you also feel like you need to hustle to hit your goals or make a certain revenue mark, then listen up buttercup because I’m about to dose out some tough love. 

Please note:  Anything mentioned in this blog is not relating to needing a mental health day or moments of relaxation or time to step away.  Taking time for mental health is VITAL!   This tough love stems from feeling overwhelmed by not taking action during your allotted time to work and procrastinating in unhealthy healthy ways.   

Hustle by definition means to: (verb) obtain by forceful action or persuasion. Courtesy of Google definition. 

If you need to persuade someone, then, to me in this moment, it’s a form of manipulation… hard pass. If you have to force something to make it happen, unless it’s a stubborn lid on a mayo jar… you don’t need it in your life.

TOUGH LOVE 

Hustling to me means you lacked discipline in your actions (daily) to hit your goal. 

Period. 

Well, unless you are running from a wild beast in order to prevent death, you do not need to hustle.  If you are hustling to catch the train, then buttercup, you were not consistent or disciplined with your actions to rise earlier to get there in time. 

If you are hustling to write a blog post or call someone back, you did not effectively use your time which means you were not consistent or disciplined in your actions to make it happen.

I know this is going to rub some folks the wrong way.  I am okay with that.  I don’t say this to be liked.  

I say it because I need to hear it as well somedays. 

PERSONAL EXAMPLE

For the longest time, I have wanted to shed 30 pounds of unnecessary body fat and transform it into muscle. 

However, when a conference would come up and I was going to be surrounded by people - I would find myself hustling to shed some pounds two weeks before the event.

Eww. Gross. Just no. 

I had to have a hard look at myself.  The habits and daily actions I was taking were not helping me achieve my goals.  They were hindering me.  Yes, I was working out consistently; however, I was not drinking enough water or consuming enough protein and not sleeping well.

So, instead of hustling in those two weeks.  I shifted the plan became more disciplined towards my habits and created boundaries which would help me achieve this goal over time.

Why am I sharing this with you?  Because I want you to know it’s normal.  We are human.  We f- up. 

But I want you to also know… hustling is not the answer. 

*Unless you are hauling ass from a wild beast* 

If you find yourself hustling and feeling overwhelmed or the pressure of not reaching a certain goal, take a moment to reflect on what actions have you been consistently taking. 

WHEN HEALTHY HABITS ARE UNHEALTHY

Note that some habits which sound healthy like reading, taking a bath or hitting a workout may actually be negative IF you are doing them for the wrong reason. 

Check it. 

Same friend. Love her dearly.  However, when she feels stressed or overwhelmed, she will stop everything and take a bath or go outside for a walk (for me, I'll read a personal development book!). 

Sounds perfectly healthy, right?

But the reason why she (and myself) is doing it is not healthy.  She is doing these things to procrastinate… to push off the tasks she knows she needs to get done. 

Spoiler alert:  All it is doing is creating more anxiety, more overwhelm and more need to hustle. 

TAKEAWAY

Reflect on what actions you are taking consistently and ask yourself:  are they helping me reach my goals? Or are they hindering me?

Be real with yourself.  

Someone once told me, "what ever you are doing, you are getting better at".   Those words were like a sucker punch to the throat.  If I'm procrastinating, I'm getting better at procrastinating.  If I'm focused on being disciplined with my goals, I am getting better at being disciplined.  

Remember, if you feel like hustling is what you need to reach your goal… well, that’s a limiting belief.  Instead, it may mean you simply need to be disciplined with your consistent action.

Grit + Gumption.
ALG 

If you felt like this spoke to you and you need a wee bit more tough love + motivation in your life, then join our community (FREE) where we have weekly "coaching over coffee" sessions to ditch the hustle mentality and focus on just 1% better.   >> CLICK HERE TO JOIN COMMUNITY <<