How to Find Freedom from Toxic Hustle Culture in 2022
Hustle culture is killing us.
The idea that working endless hours running multiple businesses is the only way to achieve success has been proven to be both toxic and harmful. And yet our society continues to glorify the constant grind, driving more and more gifted creatives and entrepreneurs toward inevitable burnout.
I want this to stop. I made it stop in my own life, and now I’m on a mission to eradicate toxic hustle from the lives of others.
In fact, I founded The Royal Shaman after finding success as a doctor and as a top sales agent. At the time I was hustling my heart out (and making millions), but constantly drained and totally miserable. When I finally realized that the hustle lifestyle was imbalanced and lacked substance, I knew I had to shift gears. Now I teach entrepreneurs that it is possible to make millions while ditching the hustle mentality. That it is possible to stop living a life of “or” and live a life of both/and: Purpose and prosperity, impact and income, significance and success.
Want to know how? Here are my tips for breaking up with the toxic hustle culture and finding real freedom.
Embrace a Day of Nothing
Now this might sound drastic, but if you’ve been stuck in “go, go, go” mode, you just might need a major pattern-interrupt. Our body’s systems aren’t designed to be productive on a nonstop basis since we are cyclical beings; taking time for rest is just as important as taking time to play is just as important as taking time to work. Staying lodged in work mode all the time will eventually cause a short-circuit.
Your pattern-interrupt doesn’t have to be an entire day if you can’t work that out; a few hours before or after the kids wake up is fine. On the other hand it could be multiple days if you feel that you need a longer and more drastic reset. The largest amount of time you can carve out is a great place to start. The intention is to bring your “doing” down to the bare minimum for basic survival so you can truly relax, hopefully getting to a place of boredom. (Boredom is GOOD! It’s a sign of genuine release!)
Here are some additional tips to make your rest-and-reset time a success:
No electronics; none, nada, zilch!
Put your phone on silent mode after letting your loved ones know you’re going to be busy, and save the Netflix binge for another day.
Have clean, nourishing food on hand that doesn’t require a lot of preparation.
This isn’t the time to spend hours making a three-course meal from scratch, but you will want to have food on hand that makes you feel great. Think nuts, berries, whole grains. Step away from the Twinkies!
Create an environment for relaxation.
This could mean diffusing aromatherapy oils or lighting a candle, listening to frequency music or binaural beats, or wearing comfortable clothes that feel good on your body.
Don’t feel like you have to lie still and stare at the ceiling for 24 hours!
Low stimulation activity is fine. This is your opportunity to try journaling, an adult coloring book, or simply moving your body in ways that feels good.
Focus on the 20% that creates 80% of results
You’ve probably noticed that your “to do” list could extend off into infinity because there are countless things that you COULD be doing. Instead of pressuring yourself with everything you think you “have” to do, prioritize no more than three to five tasks each day and let go of the rest. Make sure they’re activities that ACTUALLY move the needle forward; the ones that are rewarding and significant.
If this is too challenging, you can start by brainstorming all of the things you think you need to do and then, one-by-one, delete or delegate the tasks that aren’t absolutely critical. Keep doing this until you’ve narrowed down your list to core activities that truly matter. Now you’ve created extra time on your schedule to simply BE!
Make time & space for activities that light you up
Our society has done a great job making us believe that if we aren’t productive, we aren’t valuable. This fallacy may have convinced you to give up activities that actually brought you joy because they weren’t moving you closer to any “goal.” And that just breaks my heart.
We are here to experience all of what it means to be human, not JUST to produce like robots. When you are a kid, you don’t play Monopoly so that one day you can open a bank. No! You play for the simple pleasure of the experience. And the more you allow yourself time for play—to embrace activities where your only intention is joy—the more energized you will be for other priorities in your life. Take a walk, sing karaoke in your living room, take a long bath in the middle of the day. Experiment until you know which activities energize and invigorate you. Then carve out time for those.
Allow yourself to ask for & receive support
Now, this one can be tough because most of us have been conditioned to believe that “needing help” is a signal of weakness. Another toxic untruth: we are meant to be collaborative! The way we currently operate in social isolation—where neighbors don’t even know each others’ names and colleagues know nothing about each others’ personal lives—is out of alignment with our innate nature.
If you struggle with this, start by asking for help with little things; maybe ask a coworker for advice, or ask someone to hold a door open for you. (Hey, when I say “little,” I mean it.) Remember, people actually LOVE to help in low-pressure situations where they have the option of saying “No.” So try to get in the habit of asking well before things have reached “emergency” status.
Find Gratitude in the NOW
Two mindsets keep us in a toxic-hustle-mode: we’re either running from fear of repeating something that we experienced in the past, or chasing a future we imagine for ourselves. Both of these mentalities create ongoing feelings of suffering because we aren’t actually in our past or future … so we find ourselves unable to ACTUALLY be present in the current moment.
If you’re unable to break this pattern, I can guarantee that you will never find lasting fulfillment. You may even look back with regret for never truly appreciating the moments that made life worth living.
To avoid that bleak fate, start by taking just five minutes each morning to write down or speak aloud three to five things that make you feel grateful. Include why you’re grateful for them and how they make you feel. It can help to place your hand on your heart to truly tap into the feeling of gratitude which will spill over into the rest of your day. It won’t take long for you to notice how this simple change in energy reduces the feeling of “rushing” and brings you back to this present moment.
I’ve even turned this practice into a game with my nine-year-old son: on our drive to school, we take turns sharing what we’re grateful for and why. If one of us can’t come up with something to share within ten seconds, we’re out and the other wins!
I’m definitely not saying that doing, working, and achieving are bad – they’re all necessary! It’s just that most people struggle to find balance within a society that is built and sustained on hustling. Modern society has no chill. And it’s in the chill—the moments in life where nothing is happening, where you aren’t planning or strategizing but simply being—where your true essence can unfold.
In that energy—that space of letting go of a schedule and hustle—your authentic self can finally start calling freedom, depth, and significance into existence. In that quiet, serene moment of anti-hustle, you can begin to heal.
This guest post was authored by Makhosi Nejeser
Makhosi Nejeser, The Royal Shaman, is an authentic African Shaman, specializing in personal development and energetic alignment. She is a human potential expert and spiritual ascension master. Makhosi helps create powerful ransformations that amplify success, and she teaches individuals how to achieve limitless abundance hrough synarchy for energetic alignment.
Through her groundbreaking modality, The Energetics of Euphoria, Makhosi teaches her clients and Guides to ground themselves in the feeling of bliss, calling in the State of Euphoria on a whim regardless of external circumstances.
A fully initiated Sanusi (Zulu Shaman), and trained in Ancient Egyptian Spirituality through the Dogon Mystery School, Makhosi now works as a Spiritual Guide & Authentic Shaman to help serious seekers fulfill their highest potential, mindfulness and metaphysics mastery through her groundbreaking modality, The Energetics of Euphoria, Makhosi works privately with highly successful individuals to create a potent pathway to a sacred and soul-fulfilling life. She’s been featured in Refinery29, Entrepreneur, POPSUGAR, Business Insider, Authority, Nicki Swift, Thrive Global, and on KTLA 5. Learn more at: https://www.theroyalshaman.com/
