Are you a hustler?

Have you been conditioned to think you need to hustle to grow your business?

“Hustle til’ you make it” (And destroy all your relationships or die in the process)

Hustle has become the new cool.

I read a post just the other day where a newbie to business proudly posted

“I have not done my hair in over a month and instead wear a hat so I can hustle longer. What time-saving tips do you have?”

Was he being serious? I have no idea, but I’d like to bet there was truth behind it.

The truth is you do have to work hard, especially in the early stages of start-up.

But there’s a difference between hard work and hustle.

Hustle comes from a place of scarcity.

You use words like:

“I should”  “I need to”  “I have to”  Instead of  “I want to”

The stakes are high, so you’re always in a heightened emotional state.

You create a place of lack and take the fun out of the process. The hustle culture is creating a world of overwhelm and burnout,

And here are 5 reasons why it will burn you down…

1. Your brain is never in flow

A hustle mind is not a strategic or creative mind. Hustle makes you hurried and forceful. Jumping from one task to the next with no intention other than ’to get more done’ but in the process, never achieving one thing with excellence.

Do you really want your customers and clients to think of you as a hustler?

2. You don’t know when to stop

9pm, 10pm, 11pm? Before you know it, you’re reluctantly closing the laptop, still not satisfied with your day’s contribution, and heading to bed in a high emotional state.

I talk about this a lot, but neuroplasticity (the ability for your brain to change) only happens in deep rest, i.e., restful sleep.

So if you’re heading to bed highly emotional and still switched on, you’re missing out on your superpower.

Sleep is king!

3. You don’t know how to take time out

Instead, you’re overthrown with guilt for not working and find yourself sneaking in five minutes here and five minutes there when you think ‘no one will notice.’

(Psst! people notice)

4. You don’t have boundaries

Your work hustle and personal life blend into one. You have no idea where one starts and the other ends. Your business brain is never fully switched off. You’ve lost control.

5. The tiredness and exhaustion become your badge of honour

I wore this badge for many years because I was influenced by those who rallied for hustle. I believed if I wasn’t 10Xing my hustle game, I wasn’t playing big enough.

Here’s the thing. This mentality didn’t just affect my health. It almost ruined my relationships with my family. Trust me when I say it’s not honourable. No one wants to be around an overtired hustler who can’t switch off from ‘business mode.’

Takeaways!

There’s a line between the hustle and hard work. Both require sacrifice and commitment.

Both are goal orientated. The difference is in the state of being and how you approach your work.

A hustler is always in a high emotional state, anxious, aggressive, rushed. The hustler is so busy hustling that self-care goes out the window.

Workouts get missed, and meals are forgotten. I’ve even heard the phrase, 

“Sleeping is cheating”

Those who are successful are critical thinkers. Critical thinking does not happen in a place of high emotion.

In contrast, hard work is strategic and purposeful. Think of the athlete heading for the Olympics with gold in mind. It takes four years to prepare for the event. Imagine if, for four of those years the athlete was in a state of hustle, sneaking in extra workouts and neglecting sleep.

No, the athlete is disciplined in the process. The athlete works hard in training. 

She gives her all to each session and shows up at her best. But she’s smart and recovers hard with rest and play. She doesn’t possess a hustle mindset; she is fully in control of her emotional state. The athlete knows its quality above quantity, so she remains patient and committed.

Hard work is a state of mind committed to the process, not just the result. Adopt an athlete mindset and lose the hustle.

Thank you for reading,

I hope this provided awareness of what I see as a growing concern within the entrepreneurial world.

Author: Keir Wotherspoon – High Performance Coach

We would like to share our appreciation to Keir Wotherspoon for his work. Please help us by sharing his blog to all those you believe would benefit from these insightful words.