A Case For The Anti- Hustle

By Susan Oglivie

Susan is one of those coaches I think more people need to know about. 

She not only has a background in teaching. She's also a wizard at helping people harness lifestyle change by breaking old habits and creating new ones, plus she's a pretty badass triathlete. 

You can check out more of Susan's work at her blog.  

Now enter Susan with 'A Case for the Anti- Hustle
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Today, like many, many days before it, I found myself wildly sweaty in a dark room. I was once again at hot yoga. Before a few weeks ago, I would have chided myself for even thinking that I had an extra hour in my day to devote to a “frivolous” practice such as hot yoga. But in the months and weeks leading up to my decision to give it a try, my mind and body broke me of any belief of what I should or could do with my time.


If you exist as a business anywhere on the Internet today, you’re bound to run into (or even follow) a few entrepreneurs with wildly successful businesses. A lot of popular philoso-preneurs send a very distinct message: Hustle. Take action. Never stop. Go all in. It’s a popular rhetoric and hashtag among those into making (or trying to anyways) money via the internet.  


I work in the fitness coaching business, and hustle is big with us. We love movement, so the idea of applying similar principles that most of us preach in our practices to our business makes total sense, right? I mean, that is, unless Internet memes that say, “Would you rather be sore or sorry?” isn’t your gig. Which in my case, it isn’t. I don’t ride my clients to push themselves harder or restrict themselves so that they can achieve their “dream body” (whatever that means).


I coach grown-ass women, so I’m not going to treat them like they need a babysitter or a drill sergeant. They certainly don’t need to be nagged or shamed or feel like they aren’t doing enough, being enough, or aren’t just straight up worthy all on their own without my help. Which is why the concept of being told I’m not doing enough, working enough, or hustling enough finally did me in.  


Hustle is Dead...And That’s OK


My hustle died back in May. I told my business coach (gosh, the guy was probably relieved) that I just couldn’t do it anymore. That I needed to take some time with my kids for summer vacation (vacation….who needs that? I’m supposed be able to work from anywhere in the world!) and think about my next steps.

I looked at my 12 week year timelines, my to-do lists, my calendars, my productivity planners, and just decided to walk away. Shit, half of them are still pinned to my bulletin board in my office. I didn’t maintain my social media accounts, my free Facebook group, marketing, website...nothing. My goal was to keep my clients happy and well-served during this time. That was it- no particular growth objectives, actions, or goals.


I couldn’t do it anymore- my body and my mind had decided they’d had enough. My husband had been 100% travel for a new job since January, we moved 3 states over in the end of March for the new job, and my kids had been in distress from February on. And that didn’t even cover how I was feeling inside. My body was starting to come up with odd aches and pains, trouble breathing, panic attacks, and a general feeling like I wanted to just get under the covers and stay there. I needed to do something different. I needed my business to reflect how I wanted others to feel, not how some successful entrepreneur said I should run it.



Going with the Flow


Since walking away from all the “stuff” I thought I needed for a successful business, I am happy to say I am …. Happy. (You totally thought I was going to say “more successful than I have ever been”, right? Nah.) And happy comes with its own set of outcomes, which is exactly in line with what I coach my clients about. When we feel good, we do more things that are good for us. When we love ourselves more and believe we are worthy, our actions end up lining up to what needs to be.

Being a little more present and relaxed in my own life without a particular agenda allowed me to really gain perspective. It allowed me to dream up some ideas for new coaching ventures and line up my current coaching with my strengths and in a way that jibes with my lifestyle. I read whole books instead of sound bites. I stopped parroting things I heard someone else say. I put my f’in phone away for hours instead of minutes.

It’s allowed me to reflect on things in my personal life and take some tentative actions that serve me well for now. Things like getting more sleep so I actually dream dreams (that hasn’t happened for two years), and not forcing myself to compete athletically since I realized that my competition was mostly about impressing others and not about me.


When I realigned my coaching, I was able to take on some new clients and experiment with a new format. I can say that both are going extremely well, and I am not constantly anxious that I am not doing enough, communicating enough, or creating enough.

A few days ago in hot yoga, the instructor asked us to set a mantra, and these 3 words popped into my head: I am worthy. Knowing that this belief is what I truly evoke means that I am on a great path for me where all the things that will happen will unfold in their due time, and in a lot better fashion than if I tried to hustle my way into manifesting them to happen.

If #hustle feels a bit like it’s doing you in, that’s okay. It’s not that your dreams will die or your business will fold overnight. You can back away from the computer and maybe even find more of what your business or your life needed without forcing it. And when you’re ready, IF you want it, hustle will always be there for you to go back to.

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The Jacked Hipster is dedicated to inspiring your personal progress and evolution. We do this through fitness, nutrition and lifestyle changes. 


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