There are a lot of phrases and slogans that I have adapted at one point or another in my life. Some of these quotes are cliche's like, “Shoot for the moon because even if you miss you’ll land among the stars.” Others are things my mom used to say, “Everything is okay in the end, if it’s not okay; it’s not the end.” One that has started to really shape who I am as a young professional in this world is the phrase “Hustle Harder.” I’ve heard this phrase before, but it never really sunk in until one of my YouTube influencers started using it in her daily vlogs. I think that this mindset of working, grinding, and even hustling can have horrific backlash when not put into the right context. There are a lot of people who keep pushing, running, and working until they no longer enjoy the things they once loved. This is a symptom of this term called burnout. You’ve probably seen people all over the entertainment, entrepreneur, and creative space using this term over the past few years. According to The Association for Psychological Science burnout was a term coined by Herbert Freudenberger in 1947. He describes it as, “the loss of motivation, growing sense of emotional depletion, and cynicism.” This is something that I think that a lot of professionals and students are experiencing. I know that I felt this in college, and it caused me to be on verge of not graduating. It wasn’t until after college and my first job that I really understood how to apply this phrase in a healthy manner.
I was very lucky after barley graduating college because I found a full-time job right away. I worked for a campaign cycle for the 2018 midterms. It was a life changing experience; I see how people get hooked on political organizing. This post isn’t about that time in my life; it’s about the time right after I was done. As a young person right out of school I assumed that my entire life had to be a sprint. I needed to get a better job, more money, and a just upgrade everything in my life to be the “adult version.” After the campaign was over I was drained. Not just physically from all the door knocking, but emotionally from all of the time and effort I had been putting into my work. I loved every second of it while I was in the fire, but afterward I started to feel the blow-back. I couldn’t get to sleep very easily, I was wasting time on my phone, I was a procrastinating a lot, and my food routine and diet had gone down the toilet. It was then that I decided that this expectation of hustling constantly was not what I thought it was.
Now four months into a job with a more steady routine among other things; I have gotten back on track with this idea of Hustling with Intent. The drive is still there; pushing me to do what I need to do, allowing me to be creative, and trying new things. It’s just not a thing that needs to happen all at the same time. When I became more clear with my goals, or rather where I saw myself in 5 years or 10, I became much more intentional with time. I have this drive and need to be busy, but I can control the hustle. There are still times when it feels like I’m sprinting; like all of last week, but I am now equipped to go back to my life of intent after the hustle is over. This doesn’t mean that I no longer have ambition or drive. I am still incredibly ambitious. I just have started to hustle harder, in one direction rather than 100 different directions.
Always Hustling with Intent,
Josie
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