Some Saturday thoughts about the need to hustle

It’s time to stop. Stop the hustle. I am enough. Just as I am. Right where I am. That hustle way of life ain’t for me. No, not for this slow living girl… devoted to creating a wild + sacred life. So, it’s about damn time I put down those feelings of guilt, of wondering, and of pondering how or if I should imitate the hustle lifestyle. And it’s time to bask in the glory and ok-ness of living + embodying exactly what my soul is telling me is right for me. So, with this post, on this cold, foggy, snowy nordic Saturday morning that’s exactly what I am doing.

Somehow, all of the creative things I do have become a production for, well, you. Over the years, my mind has increasingly turned to thinking about what you will think about what I post. Will it lead to a contact? Will I inspire? Will I receive feedback? Will I be able to grow a business?

And all of this, combined with my complete inability + complete dislike of hustling, meant that I have kind of continually second-guessed myself. Knowing I am not made for this business, hustle, work your ass off way of living… but not knowing what else to do or be. How I am + how to get ahead seemed to not line up. Leaving me feeling empty + stuck lately.

But, of course it all didn’t line up. I’m like a round soul trying to fit into a square life. I need slow flow. I need my life to unfold. I need to be present. And I need it all in my ways of living. But, there are plenty of people out there who live slow, intentional, magical lives – and can “hustle” their businesses into success. And I have admired them so much that I began to question why I couldn’t find the balance or desire.

Why can’t I find it? Because I don’t have it. It’s not me. It’s not my way. And, finally, hallelujah, I’m letting that pressure go. I’m letting it all go. Releasing it all. Stepping even more deeply into myself. And, I’m doing it right now, today, on this Saturday morning. As I write to you, but not for you.

It’s time to strip down to basics. To simplify. To not give two shits about the right way or the wrong way. Embrace my authenticity. And to create only for my own spiritual documentation. To write + photograph + plan from the medicine of my soul. To just reconnect with why I create… which is to heal my own spirit, to slow my own life down, to follow my own calling, to evolve + embody my soul’s way of living, to be faithful + devoted to who I am created to be.

I may even put down my pen + my journal, in order to allow myself to reconnect with the written word here. This is where I love to create + write + post. And, for the past however long, I have planned out + thought deeply about each post… instead of just posting. So, that’s why you’re getting a Saturday morning thoughts post today.

Ok. Now, I’m gonna take this reflection a little deeper… The production for others, both here + on my social media, has been mostly (but not totally!) because of my desire (pressure?) to create a business where I am flexible + free. Working from home or from wherever. Of course, every single post that I share comes from deep in my soul, and they are always me sharing my truth, but also always with a little thought in the back of my head if this is the post that will go viral, or if this is the post that will help my business start off.

But, slowly I am accepting + realizing that I’ve been thinking crazy. This isn’t who I am. My “business” has not taken off because I haven’t done anything. I haven’t hustled. And that’s because I hate business. And I don’t like or crave or feel motivated to hustle. I mean, seriously, if you know me, would you ever use that word to describe me?!

You see, not only do I live a slow, wild, sacred life – which leaves no room in my soul for hustling – I also have very meaningful work already. And I’m good at what I do. Plus, I always have the opportunity to grow, which is just a personal choice/attitude anyway.

But, for some reason, in my pursuit of a free + flexible life, I have not given the life I already have the proper credit. For some reason, I have thought that I am settling if I just sink into my daily job. Which I do actually already love.

Still… that freedom + flexibility. I find myself feeling jealous of those who have it. Something in me still wants it. Yet, perhaps I just want the image of what I see. Because I still don’t want my own business. And I don’t think that it’s because it’s too hard for me or that I can’t learn it. It’s because I have no passion for it. It doesn’t align with my soul.

I actually have everything I could ever ask for. So, it’s time to let go + release + heal + celebrate.

No more hustle thoughts behind my blog posts or social media presence. My intention is still, and always will be, to inspire. But, I’ll let my life, my words, my images do the talking. No planning something in the hopes that it leads to some business venture. No focus on the end, but only on the journey. It’s time to sink into + enjoy my daily work even more, trusting that I am always exactly where I need to be. It’s time to return to just casting my creative shit out there into the cosmos, letting it land and move where it will.

It’s time to stop the hustle + just be present in this moment with the intention to live it fully.

Oh, happy weekend to all of you out there. Hope it’s a magical one. xoxo. liz.