Is a Hustle and Grind Mentality Really Good For Us?

Unless you have been on both sides of this, it is difficult to say whether “hustle and grind” is a good motto to live by.

Before my “hustle hard” days, I was working hard, but I was not “hustling” so to speak. I wasn’t losing nights of sleep to get projects done. I wasn’t losing friends or family because I was so busy with work. My relationship was not put on the line because of all the time and effort I was putting into my work.

Hustling seems like a pretty noble thing to do in one sense right? Making all kinds of personal sacrifices for a long period of time in order to reach your greatest goals and dreams? Choosing work and self development over everything else because one day it will pay off?

My Experience

Back when I wasn’t working from home, I was going to my job, coming home and relaxing for the night. I will be honest, I wasn’t motivated to do much else. I had even lost my motivation to work harder and get better at the job I was already in. I just went through the motions, which brought me to a very empty,unfulfilling place. I had no goals and nothing more to work toward.

At the time, I had never been introduced to the new concept of “hustling”. But when I started working from home, it’s all I seemed to ever hear from people! It was in posts and memes all over Facebook, people standing by this concept religiously. So, of course I had to see what it truly meant and why it seemed to be the new way of life.

I had started up a business online, and my team was all about us pushing past the feelings of wanting to give up, and working hard with our heads down and not listening to any negative comment that came our way. I heard of women who for months barely had time with their spouses because they were in their office hustling so hard. But that it was worth it in the end when they could tell their spouse to come home!

Stories like this made me want to hustle too! I wanted to tell my fiance that he could leave the place he was working at and pursue his dreams too! So I decided I would put my ALL into this business at whatever cost.

Hustle PROS

In my experience of hustling, there are some big pros that brought me many positive life changes!

1. Gained the motivation to work towards something bigger than I had previously been.
2. Learned a TON of things about myself, and gained confidence in who I am and the person I was becoming.
3. Pushed past limits that I originally had for myself and found that I am capable of much more!
4. Was drawn to more positive, uplifting, inspiring people, rather than the toxic ones I was previously around.
5. Was dreaming again and dreaming BIG! It was interesting to see what kinds of things had been sitting on my heart for so long.

Hustle CONS

As you can see, there are plenty of positive benefits to hustling, grinding and pushing yourself. But as with anything else, there is also another side to this. Maybe it doesn’t affect everyone the same way, but these are some of the things that I started to notice were happening.

1. My fiance was feeling that I wasn’t truly present when we were together, because I was always on my phone taking care of my business or some kind of project.
2. I experienced “burn out” OFTEN. “Burn out – physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress”
3. I barely spoke to my family or friends anymore, and didn’t hang out with ANYone for months because I was so focused on getting things done and working harder every day.
4. Sometimes I wanted to just deal with negative emotions I was feeling and work through them, but I felt like I couldn’t, and just needed to push away anything negative and avoid it at all costs.
5. I started losing my sense of peace, and space to just breathe without feeling that I was wasting time and needed to get back to work.
6. I had a hard time getting to sleep every night because my mind was constantly going.
7. I was relying more on my own hard work and abilities rather than God. I was barely praying anymore, thinking that I had everything under control.

Conclusion

Now, like I said, we don’t all handle situations the same. So, maybe you have a “hustle and grind” mentality and are able to keep a good balance between work and personal life. But I believe that like with anything else, moderation is key.

If a football player is starting to slack in the final few minutes of a game, the coach may tell them to “hustle!”. And in that case, when it counts the most, I believe having a “hustle” mentality is hugely beneficial. It can get you through a rough spot, or kick negative obstacles out of the way.

However, I don’t believe that we should make this a way of life. There is a season for everything. And sometimes we need to go through a season of rest, time away from the busyness to refresh and re-energize so that we can go back out there with a clear head and new perspective.

If I can bring up the example of Jesus for a second. He worked hard and traveled far to share the Gospel with people. But there were also many times that He pulled away from all of the noise and busyness around Him, and sat with God alone in prayer for hours. He discerned when he needed to go out and do His work, and when He needed to rest in His Father’s presence and focus on Him alone.

It’s great when we take time for self-development. We read our self-help books, pamper ourselves at the salon, listen to informative or inspirational podcasts etc.. But there is a peace like no other that comes when we not just focus on ourselves for a time, but shift our focus over to God and who He is.

I feel that those times not only help me get back to work even sooner but with much more enthusiasm and strength to keep going because I am not longer relying on my strength alone.

So yes, I believe that the Hustle and Grind mentality can be a positive thing, in the right seasons and situations in our lives. And it may be necessary more often for some than others, depending on your personality, strengths, and skills. But if you start to find that you’re losing your sense of peace, or you experience “burn out”, maybe it’s a sign that you need to pull it back a bit.

Don’t listen to what everyone else tells you. Some may say to avoid something, some may say to embrace it. Everyone has different opinions and have different experiences. So, you decide what is best for your life. Don’t be afraid to experiment, question, doubt or go against the grain sometimes. It may even lead you exactly where you need to be!

I hope you enjoyed and were able to take something from this post!! If you did, let me know in the comments, or send me a quick message so we can chat! Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂