It’s a common misconception that being more busy often equals more success. Humans have a natural inclination to compete. Which is partially how the modern hustle and grind culture was born.
Hustle and grind have taken over the way in which we work, and it’s still a hot topic whether or not that’s a good or a bad thing.
Guilt for grinding too hard. Guilt for not grinding hard enough. These are opposite forces that pull us. That opposing pull is because these two sides are interconnected and interdependent.
Balance isn’t getting rid of one extreme or the other. Balance as I see it, is letting these opposing forces guide us as we navigate our life and work so that the scales don’t tip too far in either direction.
With that definition of balance in mind, I think we can all agree that it’s good to live the most balanced life that we can, in whatever way that means the most to you.
So how do we find a balance within the extremes of the hustle and grind culture that we have grown so accustomed to?
1. Find Your Own Grind
Everyone is different. We each vary greatly in things like personality, discipline, mental stamina, creative inspiration, passion, motivation, adaptability, etc. and each of these play a role in shaping the way that we “grind”.
A healthy and balanced grind for me, may leave you feeling drained, frustrated and burnt out by the end of the week. Or for example, let’s say that you are passionate about something and could easily hustle 14 hours a day for it, yet someone else may hustle for 4 hours a day towards their passion and be equally as satisfied and/or successful.
One of the best ways to ensure you are following your own grind is to be internally driven, not externally motivated and you can do this by simply following your passions and intuition and staying true to your core values.
Find Your Rhythm & Flow
Make the commitment to get familiar with your natural work and rest rhythms, and then find a flow with them rather than feeling pressure to grind all of the time even when it may not be in your best interest.
Once you are clear on why you hustle and what you want in this life, you can begin to fall into a natural rhythm that your grind can align to.
This rhythm is how we work, how we interact, how we prioritize, and make important decisions. This is how people will know if they can work well with us or not. It’s also how the universe aligns complimentary people and opportunities with you, and deters the wrong people and opportunities away from you.
If we disregard our natural rhythm, we run the risk of aligning ourselves with the wrong people, the wrong opportunities, and even the wrong grind.
Hustle culture often puts us in a position where we grow accustomed to operating on autopilot, causing us to disregard what may actually be most healthy and practical for our own lives.
This is why knowing your rhythm, priorities and values are super important.
When those things are clear to you, they will be clear to others and the universe will be able to work for you, and it won’t always feel like it’s working against you.
2. Hustle For The Right Reasons
Avoid burnout, confusion, and resentment by being crystal clear on why you are hustling in the first place.
If you are just hustling for the sake of the hustle, then you probably won’t reach success that’s fulfilling or sustainable long term.
Hustling for the wrong reasons is like hustling for a lottery ticket. You won’t even know that it’s going to work, and statistically it’s just more likely that you won’t win.
If you hustle for the right reasons though, you are not only more likely to come out on top but you’ll also more than likely be happy with the view.
When we grind for the good, we have our values, priorities, and goals clearly aligned and our hustle follows their lead. Which in turn let’s life put people and opportunities along our path that are a healthy match.
That’s really the key. Because the relationships that are built around our passions are what help us expand, reach new heights, and make a real difference.
It’s also why it’s so important that we grind for the right reasons and stay aware of ourselves and the impact that we want to make in the world before we go hustling our lives away working towards a thing we may not even want.
Effects Of An “Unbalanced” Grind
- 1. Decreased Focus, Creativity, and Efficiency
- 2. Lack of Enjoyment or Fulfillment in Your work
- 3. You Often Feel Insignificant When You Aren’t Working
- 4. Unclear Work & Life Boundaries
- 5. Exhaustion and Inconsistent Sleep
- 6. Inability to Prioritize Time For Yourself or Time With Others
- 7. Can Lead to Chronic Health Conditions
- 8. Can increase stress, anxiety, and depression
Advantages Of A “Balanced” Grind
- Welcoming to Healthier Relationships & Opportunities
- Evidence of Balanced Priorities and Time Management
- Improved Productivity, Innovation, and Creativity
- Less Frustrated, Stressed, and Irritable
- More Understanding and Patient
- Enhanced Mental & Physical Health
- More Comfortable Saying No or Taking Time Off
- Increased Priority to Self Care Activities
Each person focuses, flows, and views success differently. So what is balanced to me may not feel balanced to you and that is okay.
Even though hustling is good and respectable, it’s even more important to learn how to develop a balanced and fulfilling hustle that enables you to work for your goals and even allows your goals to work for you too.
Achieving a work life balance doesn’t have to be so difficult to achieve. It just takes patience and time to understand yourself, in order to be confident to grind in accordance with your natural rhythms.
5 Reminders for a Healthy Hustle
- Always allow yourself time to rest and time to enjoy life as you hustle and grind.
- Ensure that you enjoy your time when you are grinding by grinding for the right reasons.
- When we grind for the wrong reasons we risk burnout, unaligned choices, resentment, and regret.
- Avoid burnout and confusion by being crystal clear and confident about why you are hustling in the first place.
- Balance won’t look like a balanced scale all of the time and that’s okay. Follow your natural rhythm and find your own flow.
If we normalize and encourage a healthy hustle, we can continue to grow our capacity to do meaningful work, make stronger connections, and be more successful in our endeavors in the future.