Are you aligned, or trapped in hustle culture? 

Being in the business game I constantly see coaches, teachers, and entrepreneurs talking (or shall we say bragging) about their ‘hustle’ – how hard they work, how many hours they put in, what time they get up, etc. We call that ‘hustle culture’ and that’s what we will explore in this article.

It’s super-productive, sure, but is ‘hustling’ really all its cracked up to be?? 

I think not, and here is why…

Hustling is all about pushing, controlling, forcing, and working things into place. It’s mostly a cognitive (thought-centred) process, where you observe what others are doing, and strive to outwork them. 

Aligning is about laying things out, and ensuring they’re congruent, with yourself, your goals, and your objectives. It’s about being aligned energetically, before you take action. Sounds important, right?

So my philosophy is; Alignment + Hustle = Success

I have learned this the hard way. I fell for the ‘work hard’, no-rest hustle culture mentality for a long time, always working harder, longer, and more effectively than all of my competitors. It did bring me a lot of ‘success’ at the time, but it in the end it lead me down a pretty dark road to total burnout. 

Success is not just about beating the competition. It’s about liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it. We can thank Maya Angelou for that one. 

In the past, when I was just ‘hustling’, I had never stopped moving forwards, or gotten quiet enough, to work out what I actually wanted. I had never defined what success was, from my own unique perspective. So when you factor in the 80hour weeks I put in for 10+ years, it seems like a long road to nowhere, right? 

Again, Alignment + Hustle = Success.

When we hustle without alignment, we;

1. Risk going a million miles in the wrong direction

When we simply hustle, we are competing with people around us, trying to match what they’re doing, and to stay ahead of the game. The issue with being caught up in competition, without being tuned into our own inner goals and objectives first, is that we end up building something that was perhaps not meant for us in the long run.

2. Risk losing connection with ourselves and our deeper needs

Similar to the above point, when you’re hustling, and not aligning, you get caught up in what I call the ‘outside world’ – the world that is being thrust at you, which is the opposite of the world that exists within you. Connecting in with yourself, and aligning your goals to that, ensures your deeper needs are met, and makes it easier to know what things to ‘hustle’ for, and what things to let go of. 

3. Risk being blocked from our unique gifts and talents

I don’t care what anyone says, we all have unique gifts and talents. When we hustle without tuning in, we lose sight of those gifts. Once we lose sight of our gifts and talents, we run the risk of numbers 1 and 2. 

4. Risk reaching burnout 

From an energetic perspective, hustling and hustle culture is essentially a masculine energy. Femininity is passive. When you’re a woman, whether you like it or not, you run on passive, feminine energy. This means, we have a strong sense of who we are and what is aligned within us, and deviating from that becomes tiresome. When we push for too long, and get too far from who we are, we become exhausted. Then we have to rest before starting up again. 

Considering those four points, it seems only logical to make sure you’re aligned, before you hustle. 

How do I become more aligned with my core self?

Firstly, you have to get quiet. This means, take a break from the ‘noise’ of the outside world. Meditate, go to the beach, and sit alone in your favourite café, whatever works for you. Tuning out the outside world is the only real way you can work out what is going on for you personally, on the inside. 

Ask yourself, is what I’m doing making me happy? Do I have a clear goal? Am I energised, or exhausted? Do I feel supported, or isolated?

Remember, feminine energy is PASSIVE. It works better when it’s aligned first.

Here are a few examples of how alignment, comes in before hustle;

• In training/exercise, alignment comes in over hustle. Working with your body, and not overstepping your capacity, is essential. To excel in training you hustle, but that comes later
• In general nutrition/health/weight loss goals, alignment comes in before hustle again. The hustle comes in when you need to lose that last 5% of body fat. For most people, you can achieve your goals simply by being aligned. You only need to hustle when your goals are extreme 

• In business and at work, you align your budiness with who you are, then you hustle. You continuely stop and chek that you haven’t gone offtrack. Once that’s is confirmed, you hustle some more. 

• In relationships, and I just thought I would throw this in there, hustling is not required. If you have to hustle someone to be your friend, partner, or whatever, they are not your people. Relationships rely on alignment only.

So in summary, find alignment first, THEN hustle. If you’re not aligned, DO NOT hustle. Abort mission! Going full force without tuning in and getting a clear picture of where you’re headed paves the way to stress and burnout in the long run. And then you go backwards. 

Been there, done that, so, ditch hustle culture, step into alignment.

Magical Mindset

If you want to explore your mindset in a magical way (to find self and alignment), check out this self-coaching program, Magical Mindset! It’s really great for uncovering the real you, and supporting you in coming to a place of peace and authenticity.

Much Love!

Jen x