Why I Banished “Hustle” From My Art Business Vocab

Wake up, hustle, repeat. 

This used to be a mantra of mine. As a creative entrepreneur, I took pride in the hustle because I thought that was what successful small business owners did. I thought if I could “hustle”, it simply meant that I was a hard worker. 

I love what I do and I am used to putting in long hours and working in the evenings and on weekends. I am a night owl by nature, and so it is easy for me to stay up way later than I ever intend to. Sometimes I get lost in a painting that I am particularly excited about and lose track of time. 

This is fine when it happens every once in awhile, but there was a time when I was living off of about 5 hours of sleep every night. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” I used to say when family members and friends asked me how I could neglect sleep so easily. Let’s face it: A lack of sleep and a draining work schedule have become the norm in today’s society.

After brewing coffee morning, noon, and night just to keep myself awake during the day, I became exhausted and work became a lot less fun. Suddenly the word “Hustle” felt more like burnout. I acknowledged that I had neglected to set healthy boundaries between my work life and personal life, and embarrassingly, I had even neglected my own needs as a human being. That glorious thing called sleep that most of us get far too little of? Turns out it is actually vital to one’s health. Who knew?

I learned that it was physically impossible for me to do it all and to continue to forgo sleep in the name of success. This made me feel like a failure, which, I know now, is just silly. Am I a failure because I need to sleep and to do things outside of my business practice? No. While I wish coffee was truly the only fuel I needed, I enjoy having a life outside of my art and think that other roles, events, and interests make me a more interesting person and contribute to my creative inspiration.

So why did I feel like a failure when I was working so hard? Maybe the issue was not with me and my work ethic or even my limitations, but rather, with the words I chose to guide me in my creative practice. I suddenly realized that the very definition of “hustle” refers to the energy and movement of work, but not necessarily traction or forward momentum. I am a hard worker and I am proud of that, but I needed to change my expectations of myself. I can’t hustle or work 24/7 if I also want to be a healthy human being. What I can do is show up to work with focus and intention. I can do my very best with my limited time and energy while respecting the boundaries that I set between my work life and personal life. 

So my new mantra?

Wake up, work with intention, repeat.

A little less catchy, but a whole lot healthier.