Hustle vs Align

I met with India, one of Joiful's lovely partners this week, and I was saying that I felt bad that I hadn't gotten our newsletter out. As a business owner, particularly a small business owner who wears many hats, it has been particularly challenging for me to figure out the balance between doing things that I love (like connecting with y'all through the newsletter), and also keeping up with the demands of life. India reminded me that Spirit is always working, even when I am not doing the things.  How rude! As a type A perfectionist, a doer of all-the-things, this is highly offensive! 😆 Zach then added insult to the injury 😉 by reminding me that when you're paddling downstream, you don't have to be paddling every single second. You can lift of the paddles for a few moments and coast... and then when it is time, you put the paddles back in and keep going.  I impose all sorts of rules on myself, and then get upset when I don't live up to my own expectations. A short passage in The Gospel of Mary Magdalene came to my mind when I was pondering this... it says something about not adding more laws than is given in the Torah, lest you become bound by these new laws. Boy, that hit hard! I impose all sorts of rules on myself. And then I do a great job of beating myself up when I don't adhere to my own self imposed rules. 🫠

• Get out the weekly newsletter

• Posting X amount on social media each week

• Be diligent in my personal yoga and meditation practice

• Eat this way

• Exercise that way

• Read every day

• Connect with my husband every day

• Take the dog on a long walk X times a week

I can go on, but you get the point. 😅

I have been hustling hard. I know I am in the hustle when I am doing things because I think I should or need to, but not because they are bringing me joy. Things that were once joyful are now things to check off on a to do list.

In the bookThe Way of Integrity, Martha Beck talks about the difference between being aligned vs hustling.

“Anything you do solely to influence others, rather than to express your true nature, is a hustle.”

Spending time with my husband each day because I enjoy his company is way different than being like... Ok, I gotta hang with my husband now, because if I don't, I will not be a good wife (A thought I have literally had). 😆 It's a totally different energy and motive.

I don't know about you, but I am over hustle culture. I am over trying to convince people and to do things from the wrong motives ... and to setup expectations for myself that are not realistic.

Aligning looks a bit different. It rarely includes shoulds on your to do list. It includes coasting when it's time to coast and picking up the paddle when it's time to pick up the paddle.

What about you? Are you paddling right now or coasting?

A season of hustle or a season of alignment?