Please Stop Glorifying the Hustle
I am hustling so hard right now I barely have time to post a picture of my latte and laptop on Instagram to tell you how hard I’m hustling. That was a joke but I feel like it’s a common theme. It is a badge of honor these days to be busy. How often have you been on vacation with friends and none of them check their email? For me it’s rare.
Come on people, you are not that important! Your company is not going to implode if you take one weekend off without being connected. I understand certain people do have busier jobs than others or commissioned sales people don’t make money if they aren’t working but even still, it's important to be able to shut things off on occasion.
We must learn to set boundaries with our work. If you are always responding to emails after hours, your clients will always expect an immediate response. You can take time off- the work will be there when you get back; I promise.
It’s important to work hard and take pride in what you do but being busy for the sake of being busy? It’s like a competition to be the most exhausted. When someone asks you “How have things been or how is business going?” think about your answer. It almost always involves the word busy. I guess we are afraid of being thought of as lazy or unsuccessful if we don’t appear to be super busy.
We all do better work when we can rest, disconnect, and recharge. When you put limits on your time it makes your time more valuable. If you think about it our time is really our most valuable asset. You can’t get more of it- it is finite.
When I paint I feel most like myself- art is my sanctuary. I believe that surrounding yourselves with art is a truly powerful thing. Research shows there is a clear link between our surroundings and our mental health. It shows that people who work in colorful spaces are more confident, alert, and friendlier than those working in drab spaces. Art is a daily reminder to stop, put the noise aside and connect with yourself. I create art in hopes that when people view it they become happier and more connected with the world around them.