Toxic Positivity & Hustle Culture
Can positivity really turn toxic? When it’s en amassed within a culture that emphasises ‘hustle’ I believe it can.
I recently read a blog post on LinkedIn of someone I follow, who has influenced my life in a big way within organizational leadership standards and what my masters was in.
She wrote a book called ‘The Good Fight"; that addressed the style of avoidant attachment style personalities, in workplaces and how detrimental it is short term and long term cultural health. It was a great book that lead to many other insightful musings, But that is not what I wanted to discuss here.
Over the course of a week she posted about burn out and how for years she had written one blog post a week as that was her habit and preferential goal after her book was published. In this post she defined how burnout could show up and how she gave herself grace that week to take some time off and be with her family. I noticed an undertone of shame. Almost like she needed to accept the fact that she was diverting from her original plan years ago with this post.
I was spot on with this perception, because her next post was giving her audience ways in which to keep up with the routine that was clearly not intrinsically healthy, through identifying ways that zap your energy. Now I completely agreed with the ways in which we surround ourselves with energy zapper’s, she mentioned, Such as streamlining decisions and getting rid of negative self talk, but the whole premise of the post was to keep on, keeping on, even after dealing with these so called energy zappers. My hot take on this is to address the toxicity of American hustle culture.
To me this post insinuated that we need to remove the natural ways in which our body is often calling out for rest in lieu of pushing for more.
To me this is one of the most unhealthy ways of not-intuitive living. And if you’ve gotten into my other blog posts you would know that setting standards and boundaries for yourself within a more natural intuitive way is imperative in getting to alignment and joy.
Now in all of this I’m not saying we shouldn’t set goals for ourselves I’m saying those goals should bend and sway with the wind. Just as you see it working within nature. Animals take rests often. They take mid naps and get beefed up for winter months as they slog around.
I’ve even seen stray cats get chonky and adorable during those few winter months in Florida, lounging on rooftops as they gaze at passerby’s, judging our antics of hustle culture.
We should be ok with rest (even naps) and give ourselves grace even if we aren’t meeting our quota of goals we set for ourselves during the beginning of the year (new years resolutions on the horizon)
I was acutely reminded of rest, when during a certain time during my cycle, I often have a few bouts of sleepless nights. My husband and I had scheduled out a few nights we would be helping our neighbors pack for a move. I was moody and my husband being the layman monk he is politely told me to just ‘chill out’ for a few days - ‘They would understand” and our close friends being those people who ARE intuitively aware even checked in just to make sure I was ok and let me know all was well with me being at home. (They are beautiful people)
I am only recently stepping back into the limelight of work after using disability to set up cancer treatment and I have realized I have come a long way in noting how my body truly does keep the score (Love that book!) and keeping these boundaries I have set for myself has created a standard early on. Because it’s truly like I’m starting from the beginning as I took a hiatus on work for three years. And that’s ok. I don’t have an impending doom cloud hovering above head any more where I’m trying to prove my worth through my career and this is how I ultimately have ended up starting this non profit. Yay!
It’s amazing how when we give ourselves space and downtime and when we set intuitive goals and boundaries what can transpire! I feel the most content and happy that I have ever been in my life. I’m not chasing something out of lack, within myself (worthiness) or within the realm of ‘success’. Just the other day I turned down a client that has repeatedly asked for lessons within a time frame I am not willing to budge on. I politely have steered this client away and I am so proud of myself for keeping these subtle promises (boundaries) I’ve made. I recognize my need for intuitive routine and won’t shy away from it, even when given the option to make more money. Even in the beginnings of a new found career I believe it’s of utmost importance to set the standards intuitively or your body will be keeping the score and just like Liane Davey you will be writing blog posts, bouncing between grace, shame and keeping up with hustle culture.
If you like this post and all that it encompasses please don’t hesitate to join our community of intentional lifers. We have online and in person events!
Blog Summary: Even at the beginning of careers or what can be defined as our’success’s, we should be setting a standard of rest that is intuitively divine.
Because as I saw happening with the esteemed author I follow, Those people who negate this standard will in the future, have created a neural pathway that will have to be upended later, after years of intuitive boundaries being broken and that might be hard to do.
