I’m so excited to kick off our hustle culture series today, friends!
While it wasn’t intentional, I published a blog post on why motivation is unreliable last week and it works as a fantastic prelude into this post! So feel free to grab a cup of your fave beverage and I’ll be right here when you get back!
I haven’t thought-and-rethought my way through a post like this one… maybe ever. I have no idea why I’m intimidated to cover this topic, but I also feel really led to do so – so we are doing this together!
For this first post in the series, I decided to keep things simple and provide an overview of hustle culture as well as living a more intentional, slower lifestyle. If I were to make a legal analogy (of course I would make this a legal analogy, haha!), this post would serve as the opening statements to this case!
Before I dive in, once again, I just have to say THANK YOU for all of your awesome feedback and excitement about this series – it means so much!
Okay, let’s finally get this hustle culture series party started!
The Hustle Culture Phenomenon
In the 2018 era, hustle culture became an entire phenomenon known by all. A lifestyle that was praised for always being on the go, working hard, delighting in the struggle of never having enough time, and being a girl boss. Always, always, always!
What I’m reminded of most during this time, when I first discovered hustle culture, is Rachel Hollis. I’m pretty sure she was the epitome of hustle culture within a person. I know she’s a controversial figure, but I am drawing from my experience so please bear with me. I can remember reading her first book (you can see my review of it here) and falling in love with it, and I even loved her second book too.
I admired her for her work ethic and all that she accomplished and likewise, I wanted to work hard and do all the things and make a great life.
Aside from Rachel Hollis, there was no shortage of media promoting hustle culture. Podcasts, YouTube videos, Instagram posts, blog posts, magazines, or any other sort of media you could think of! The rise and grind mentality was praised for being the right way to live a successful life. I think the term ‘successful’ is subjective because it means something a little different to each person you ask. Our viewpoints of what success truly means also changes over time as we evolve – I certainly don’t have the same point of view now as I once did back then in 2018.
Where there is hustle culture, it seems there is no place for rest. If you’re resting, you’re not working. One of the biggest cons, and likely the most toxic piece of the hustle culture pie, is that there is no mention of taking a break. Burnout is inevitable, friends. I think any of us that have experienced hustle culture, no matter our thoughts on it, know that you eventually run out of steam. There is a reason the Lord made Sunday a day of rest!
Hustle culture treats rest as a luxury when in actuality, it is essential. We do a disservice to ourselves and to others if we don’t take care of our body and our mind.
There’s a whole lot more we will discover and chat about in the coming posts in this series. I’m going to cap this section off here for this post!
The Slowing Down Movement
Being present, mindful and living intentionally – I think this really embodies what slowing down means versus hustle culture. A common argument about slowing down is that some people feel that slowing down means you’re not doing enough. However, it actually just means you’re prioritizing your time and energy differently.
While this type of lifestyle has always existed (as has hustle culture, I just pointed out what I feel the peak of it was), I believe this became an entire movement since 2020. Covid changed our lives forever, in one way or another, and that period of shutting down was not only unthinkable, but none of us really knew how to handle it. Mental health became seen as more of a necessity, just like physical health, even though it should have always been just as important.
In my personal opinion, I’d say that this movement of intentional living and slowing down is the prominent lifestyle desired now versus hustle culture. I know that’s a big statement and it likely reflects how I see and feel about life nowadays. But nonetheless, you really see it everywhere now. Not just in media, though it’s a very saturated market, but in our day-to-day lives. People we know have experienced so many things, especially hardships, and it really puts things into perspective.
Speaking of perspective, we are going to deep dive into that in the coming posts in this series! It has so much to do with what kind of lifestyle you want to live, and what means the most to you.
The flipside to that by choosing to do one thing, you are always sacrificing time that could have been spent on something else. So while you may be doing something good for yourself for a few hours, those few hours could have gotten you one step closer to your goals or whatever it is that you may be looking to achieve.
Is it worth it? Should there be a certain percentage of time devoted to rest that is significantly less than the time you’re spending on your goals/working hard? Just some food for thought to hold us over until the next post, friends! We will definitely dive into this so much more!
Can There Be a Balance?
Too much of anything can be a bad thing, as they say. If you’re putting all of your eggs into one basket, you’re likely setting yourself up for failure. If you hustle away and never give yourself time to just be, you’re going to get burnt out. If you only focus on taking time for yourself and doing things you enjoy, you may run the risk of not getting things done or putting yourself out there because it may be uncomfortable or scary.
This question has been on my mind for awhile now – can there really be a balance between hustling away or slowing down? Do you have to be all-in on one or the other? I even mentioned this in a previous post and was really pleased to see that some of you felt like you had a balance between the two. That’s kind of where I find myself today, somewhere in-between the two!
That’s a wrap on the first post of this hustle culture series, friends! I really wanted to start out with an overview since it will be multiple posts and I hope you enjoyed it. I am also taking notes on things you might want to see me cover in this series, so please don’t hesitate to put suggestions in the comments or email me. I’ll do my best to get to all of them!
Can’t wait to hear all of your thoughts! Please spread the word about this hustle culture vs slowing down series if you enjoyed the post and are looking forward to the next one! 🙂
If you’re reading this for the first time, you can catch the second post on perspective here!
“Hustle culture pie” yessss! I experienced this burnout in my last job and sacrificed my mental health. After a breakdown or 10 (🤣) I now realize the importance of slowing down and taking a break. Nothing is more important than our mental health. Love this series.
Haha, I had to add in some humor! 🙂 I feel for you, it makes things so draining when you’re constantly in that cycle. I had a similar experience and my husband thought a heart attack was in the realm of possibilities, and that’s just not okay. I completely agree with you, mental health should be at the top of the list and it truly affects everything else. Thank you TONS my friend, and I’m so happy you loved this post! Makes my day!
Yes to all your points here! My vision has changed on hustle culture. Rest is a necessity and does help get you closer to your goals. But that’s really hard to do. I still struggling with slowing down without feeling guilty. The pandemic brought me the love of art journaling which taught me how to slow down and embrace imperfection. Great post Ashley and excited to see what else you share on this topic!
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
Thank you so much, my dear friend! I truly appreciate your kind words and I’m so happy you enjoyed this post! I am right there with you, I’ve accepted that rest is helpful and even productive. I do still have a hard time making that time to slow down though, it can definitely be difficult to juggle. While I am of course not happy we had to experience that horrible pandemic, I am so glad that you brought your art journaling out of it because you are AMAZING at it, and you know that I have always been a fan of all of your art!!
I took last week off to rest and stay away from all blog things and it was really hard… because, I’m more of a hustle bustle type of person! But, it was good for me and honestly, all those to do’s are still there and will always be there. So, if we don’t carve out stuff for ourselves, we’ll never get that time of rest. I’ve been doing the Bible Recap and yes, the day of rest is in there and something God stresses for us. This is def. something I’ve been working on, because I do get burned out and our mental health is so, so important! Rachel Hollis used to be one of my faves too and I honestly just can’t get back into her since Covid happened.
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
You are definitely a busy bee and I can relate! I’m so glad you took that week off for yourself though, it’s just good to give yourself some time to relax or just do other things that you want to get done aside from blogging. You always inspire me with your Bible Recap, I really need to make time to start that this year at some point! I’m really with you on the Hollis note, I used to be all-in on her stuff, and I have a really hard time too since Covid.
Great tips. It is essential to find work life balance for our mental health.
Thank you so much, Hena! I agree with you, our mental health really suffers when we don’t give ourselves time to rest.
Love this series you’re doing, Ashley! It’s such an important topic for women as we struggle with always trying to “do it all” and then feeling guilty or like a failure if we don’t accomplish everything. After years of “hustling” and not taking care of myself I learned the hard way. It can be tricky to find a balance so I look at it more now like taking things one step at a time and showing myself more grace and compassion. This is one of the main reasons I started my site to help other women, so I appreciate you keeping this conversation going. Great job!
Martha
http://www.joyfulstateofmind.com
Oh, thank you tons Martha, that means so much! I love the way you approach it with one step at a time, I’m sure that makes a big difference. Perspective is everything. You do a phenomenal job sharing this on your blog and you know I’m always a loyal fan, my dear friend!
You nailed this Ashley! Hustle culture is hard to resist. When you said Rachel Hollis – I thought that was the perfect example. Her work ethic is unmatched, and I too thought her book was inspiring. I didn’t agree with everything, but there were definitely things to take away from it. But there is so much happiness in simplicity and finding joy in the little things.
Can’t wait to hear more from you about this!
Oh, thank you so much Kristen! I truly appreciate that! Yes, I’m right there with you, there was just something about her at that particular time and she really did have a lot of great points on their face – it’s just I think we’re in a different time now and for me, a different season in life, so it just doesn’t really fit the same these days for me. Thank you again and can’t wait for you to see the next post coming up this week!
Great post, Ashley! I’m looking forward to this series so much. I’d like to think I have a balance between the two, but lately I feel like I’m hustling when I all I really want is to slow down.
Aww, thank you so much my dear friend! 🙂 I think that’s more than understandable with the season of life you’re in right now. I’m sure it makes it so much more difficult to slow down, even though you need some rest for sure!
Oh yes I know all about hustle culture. Having a full time job and a side hustle is not for the faint of heart. It’s funny I read an article today on MSN about how nobody wants to work and just get hands out from the government. First off said hand outs pay very little, theres no living large LOL. But the angry comments were off the charts. I am not sure what to believe anymore, I am so tapped out on the main stream media. I think they just post these semi true stories for the all the comments–this si worth money. But yes we all do deserve to slow down.
Allie of
http://www.allienyc.com
Absolutely, and I know you are a hard worker, Allie! Haha, I definitely agree you wouldn’t be living large while living off the government but sadly, I have to say in my area – it’s pretty common. I’m in a pretty rural area where things aren’t nearly as pricey as NYC though. I wholeheartedly agree with you on the media, it really is hard to tell what’s what because there is so much bias nowadays. You don’t really get facts, you get opinions lol!
Balance is definitely key and something that I am trying to work on.
Jennifer
Curated by Jennifer
Wishing you all the best my dear friend! 🙂
Very good points 😀
Thank you bunches, Kinga! 🙂
This is a fascinating topic! I remember being all about the hustle back in the 2018-2020, and honestly I was thriving and achieving so much. But as I get (a little) older every year, I find myself in need of a slower rhythm of life… And sometimes it’s hard to ackowledge! It’s something I need to be at peace with.
I’m going to love this series! Thank you for making it 🙂
Julia x
Last Post: An Expert Guide To Visit Budapest, Hungary
https://julia-speaks.com/complete-budapest-travel-guide/
Aww, thank you so much Julia! So happy you enjoyed the topic and the start of the series, that makes me so happy! 🙂 I can relate so much to what you’ve said here, my mindset has certainly changed over these past few years or so! Hope you’ll enjoy the next post coming out later this week!
I think it’s important to push yourself to achieve your goals, but also take time to recharge! It’s all about listening to your body and taking time for self-care. Great post!
Love your take on this, Laura, I definitely agree with you!! Thank you so much, I appreciate your kind words so much! 🙂
Excellent advice. For the sake of our mental health, it is necessary to strike a balance between our work and personal lives.
https://www.melodyjacob.com/
Thank you so much Melody, I think it truly makes a difference if we can try to balance it all out!
This is such a great series! It’s so hard to find balance and also give yourself grace when you want or need to slow down. Our physical and mental health always needs to be a priority. If we’re not healthy it could be a big obstacle in achieving our goals.
Jill – Doused in Pink
Thank you tons, Jill! I definitely agree with you, and honestly, I think if we are keeping our overall health and wellbeing a priority, the rest will sort itself out. It’s just really tough to balance out at times.
I really enjoyed this first post and I am looking forward to the next.
Thank you momma, I appreciate it! New post is coming later on this week!
I feel like it’s so hard to find the right balance but I’m always trying 🙂 Thank you for the comment you left on my Glow Recipe post by the way, people like you make the world a better place! xo
I’m right there with you, Caitlin! 🙂 And you are SO very welcome!! I really missed all your amazing posts, and am always checking in, so I was really excited to see it!! You are most certainly one of those people too!! <3
You make some great points here, Ashley. I used to embrace the hustle culture, until I came close to burnout, and then I moved to the slowing down movement. I would like to think that a balance is possible but I’m struggling to find one that works on an ongoing basis.
Julia x
https://www.thevelvetrunway.com/
Thank you tons, my friend! I can definitely relate to your experience; it seems like it eventually just catches up to us and it’s just not a sustainable thing.