Everything You Need to Know About Mindful Hustling
Mindful Hustling is a concept that essentially allows entrepreneurs, or really anyone, to live a more happy and fulfilling life by making choices that reflect their true values and authentic self. I also find it incredibly helpful for people who struggle with mental illness but are still ambitious and driven. I.e meeeee!
I was inspired to learn more about this after my coach Jenni taught me about value misalignment, which is basically a fancy way of saying that your values as a person are not aligning with the values of the job or people you are working with. For me, I was working for people who treated me poorly, I didn't know how to set boundaries via email without coming off as a bitch, and the work that I was doing wasn't stimulating in the ways I needed it to be. All of which are examples of this concept.
How to Hustle, Mindfully
Understanding your core values as both a person and a professional is the first step. I remember Jenni asking me, which I now urge you to ask yourself, How do I want to spend my time, realistically? What did a day look like for me in this new world of following my core values? How often did I work? How much money do I make? What am I spending my time on? Let go of the expectations set by our capitalistic corporate system and you might be surprised by what you learn.
Mindful Hustling also allows you to look at your goals from a place of authenticity rather than comparison. We can use my goals as an example. In the beginning of coaching when I was talking about my goals for my book, the first thing I said was that I wanted to be published by a top ten publisher, be featured on Reese’s Book Club, and be on the bestseller list. But upon reflection, with my coach's help, I began to see that these goals don’t match up with what I actually care about which is making an impact. Instead I was so focused on meeting these goals that I had seen other people get that I didn't even stop to think about whether or not they even matched my true values of the life I wanted to live.
Mindful Hustling: Where to start
Success shouldn’t come at the expense of your mental and physical wellbeing. When it does, it’s often due to misalignment: When your values as a person aren’t aligned with the values of your job, employer, or the people you’re working with. For me, I struggled setting boundaries without being perceived as a bitch, important meetings were scheduled for days I had requested time off (requests that had been approved by the same people who later disregarded them), I felt tied to my desk, and some days, I would just lay on the floor and cry, praying that all the work would go away.
If there’s anything I hope young professionals take away from my experience it’s this: it doesn’t have to be this way. You don’t have to be miserable. You just have to figure out what you want out of YOUR life and work mindfully towards that end. Here’s a few questions to get you started:
How do you want to spend your time?
What would a day look like for you in this new world of following your core values (respecting your time, mind and body)?
How often do you want to work?
How much money would you make?
What are you spending your time on?
By asking yourself these questions, you should be able to figure out the type of life you want to live so that you can start making decisions that reflect those things. You can absolutely still achieve all of your career goals, while making sure you are prioritizing your own wellbeing.
