“Wasting Time” #Hustlermentality vs #balancedmentality

In March 2020 when our world came to a halt due to COVID-19, people around the globe found themselves at home adjusting to a new normal. They got busy taking care of kids staying home from school, finding new hobbies (remember the sourdough bread days?), or identifying DIY home projects to occupy their time.  Some ambitious white collar workers even took on two jobs, taking advantage of work-from-home and extra free time. 

Reliable sources including CDC, Harvard, and Mayo Clinic encouraged us to take care of ourselves, our community, and our mental health during this time. #Selfcare

We also saw a flood of memes, articles, and influencers crop up on the web, within days of COVID-19 being declared a pandemic, promoting how to best utilize our pandemic time, how to hustle, ideas for side hustles, and other productivity tips and behavior hacks. #HustleMentality 

YouTuber, Casey Aonso, does an excellent job of summarizing the hustle culture we’ve seen emerge and why/how it can be toxic. 

So what is this #HustlerMentality? 

This writer on LinkedIn concludes that “The Hustler's Mentality is a mentality where you can have it all if you put your time and energy to create your vision. It's a mentality where being persistent and resourceful outwits talent.”

GaryVee, a very popular culture / productivity / hustle influencer, asks important questions on having a hustler mentality: “So the question remains — are you willing to hustle to make it happen? Are you willing to work 15+ hours a day to get it done? Can you biz dev? Can you do what it takes to take your business to the top while also providing value? In today’s world, there’s so much room and opportunity to bring value to somebody, but it’s never going to happen if all you care about is yourself. Stop being romantic. Put out great work and hustle. Wake up before everybody else and work those long hours. Emotionally and executionally, make the commitment to yourself and to your legacy that you’re willing and ready to go ALL-IN.”

Being a hustler requires one to be “ALL-IN”. This means ALL our energy, ALL our time, ALL we’ve got, is  ALL dedicated towards the hustle.

ALL-IN? ALL the time? 15+ hour workdays? No wonder it’s easier to give up before even trying. And it’s why we, Millenials and Gen-z’ers alike, get labeled “lazy” because we refuse to sell our soul 24x7 to the US gods of capitalism. 

Honestly, #HustlerMentality sounds EXHAUSTING.

#HustlerMentality is so oversold now that it’s almost frowned upon in certain circles to NOT have a side hustle going on. If you’re not working on an important project or creating your own company, then you’re “wasting your time.” Thanks to the capitalistic brainwashing we’ve received, we are sold on the idea of high risk and high reward. 

But isn’t the purpose of life also to… live, enjoy, and experience it? Isn’t it also about how often you get to see your family and friends? Isn’t it fun to call and catch up with an old friend? Aren’t we lucky that we get to take time off from work to do something we enjoy like traveling, volunteering, or just curling up with a good book? Isn’t it glorious when we get to sleep in on the weekend? Those are all just as important and exciting things to do in life. To actually LIVE life. 

Yes, like GaryVee asks, it’s important to think about questions like “what is the legacy you want to leave behind?” But your legacy shouldn’t just be about how much success, money, or fame you earned in life. Your legacy CAN ALSO BE that you were a kind person, that you never missed a friend’s birthday, that you always found ways to give back. Why does your legacy only mean that you achieved material and financial success? Sure, your loved ones can carry your legacy forward of your business success, but they can also carry your legacy forward of hosting family dinners every week. It’s simple, yet still an important legacy. 

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t pursue personal growth, or gain new skills, or find opportunities to contribute to our community or society. We should absolutely strive to be the best versions of ourselves everyday and push ourselves to the top of our potential. 100%. Every coach out there wants to “help you reach your *full* potential”. 

But we need a balance so we’re not ALL-in to our hustle. We’re ALL-in in LIFE and our hustle is just ONE part of that. 

Introducing #BalancedMentality

• #BalancedMentality recognizes the importance of hustling and the benefits of working hard to grow and achieve goals. But, it also recognizes that we’re on this rock in a gigantic universe for a short time, and to not take life for granted and things too seriously.
• #BalancedMentality recognizes that life can be just as beautiful, fulfilling and MEANINGFUL without a million dollars in our bank account. But if we want the million bucks, we better work hard and work smart! 
• #BalancedMentality recognizes that our life goes through seasons. Some seasons we want to hustle extra hard and want to work 15+ hour days because what we’re doing is fueled with passion. And some days or weeks, all we want is to be on vacation on a beach, indefinitely, or stay in bed all day. And that’s ok. 
• #BalancedMentality recognizes that finding time to see family, being there for friends, and spreading love and warmth makes us feel just as giddy as when we get that paycheck in the bank account or sign a new client. 

It doesn’t have to be either-or; that either you are a hustler or you’re not. Don’t let arbitrary boxes and definitions cage you in. Do what feels like the right thing to do for YOU at the time. Continuously revisit and examine if your approach is still working and fulfilling you. When it’s not, change things up again. That's the beauty of life, you can evolve everyday in whichever direction you want to. You just have to let your inner light guide you right. 

As a parting thought, I find it interesting that so many of these pro-hustle influencers lack the diversity that’s reflective in our society. I’m calling on more women of color to speak up on the topic of hustle culture. 

If you liked this post, comment below or say hello on Instagram or Twitter and let me know if you are on #TeamHustle or #TeamBalance ? 

The original article appeared on https://uncoverwithana.squarespace.com/blog/balanced-mentality