Living Authentically in a Hustle Culture World

Something has changed, we are approaching day-to-day life differently. So many of us are no longer living authentically, no longer the free spirits we were who loved to live in the moment. Once contented souls that had creativity and exploration running through their veins, days feel different. Welcome hustle culture.
Most of us make very little time for ‘the pursuit of happiness’ especially during our weekdays. We’re stuck in a cycle of getting jobs done, working, ticking off to the to-do lists, finding more to do and holding out because ‘if we just get to the weekend’ we’ll get a glimpse of those activities that feel nurturing and feed our souls.
Truth be told that day, the day when you tick all items off on your to-do list will never come. And if it does, I assure you it’s fleeting! So, we must ask why exactly we’re stuck in this terrible cycle of hustle and search of ‘empty’ fulfilment, achievement and proving oneself?

I do believe it’s a protective mechanism of sorts, self-preservation, fear of saying no, fight or flight has well and truly kicked in and it’s kicking our butts!

The mainstream way of life has taught us that to be busy is to be successful and that is what life is about, to pursue hobbies/ interests means you are ‘lucky to have the time’, to rest means you are lazy - though the opposite is true. We need these to fully function and to be well rounded humans, it is human nature to need rest and play or else what is life about?

Put it to the test, ask people, family, friends what they’ve been up to, how many will reply with ’busy’…‘really busy’. We somehow now wear ’busy’ as a badge of honour, the go-to reply.
I think there are bouts in all our lives where we can relate to this in so many ways, but why do we get to the point of burnout before listening to our bodies only to repeat the cycle?

We can feel guilty for thinking that we might like a life that feels more authentic, a life that gives us space to breath, we’ve been conditioned to believe ‘we must be lucky’ to have the opportunity to even consider change… so perhaps this is why the cycle continues.

I’m not even talking about huge shifts. It could be as simple as going for more walks, bringing back a hobby you love, creating time to read books, watch films, cook, go out for coffee and cake (lots of cake!), whatever brings you a snippet of joy that has no other motive. Let’s not feel as though we need to have achieved something first before allowing ourselves to do the little things that make our souls happy, there’s no need to feel that we should only get these moments as rewards for doing well in this ‘rat race’ world we live in.

Now’s the time to start to pour back into that cup with something wholesome, true and slow.

Days where creativity and freedom and expression can thrive (whatever that might mean for you) not with the intention of any goal, let go of the perfection, life is not perfect, we must be comfortable with that. Life isn’t about resilience, it is about letting go and being in the moment, these blissful moments that we miss, the moments that bring magic into our lives. There is no timeline, you are not falling behind, and you don’t need to catch up. Let go, cut back, be you x

I’ve written before about my own journey with this & how I slowly began freeing myself from the made-up rules and limitations that came with building a creative life online. You can read that post here: Freeing Ourselves from Rules and Made-up Limitations)