Hey there, fellow entrepreneur! Let’s talk about something that’s probably affecting you more than you realize: hustle culture.
You know, the mindset that glorifies working long hours, grinding day and night, and sacrificing sleep and personal time for the sake of your business.
There was a time I supported this mindset. Inside, I felt like I wasn’t accomplishing anything if I wasn’t spending 80+ hours a week working in and on my business.
Until I started randomly passing out 3 or 4 times a month due to severe adrenal exhaustion caused by chronic stress and sleep deprivation, that is.
It got so bad, that it would literally take me over an hour just to stand up because if I stood up any faster than that my blood pressure would bottom out and I would pass out.
But it wasn’t until I was driving one day and felt myself getting ready to pass out.
There was a semi coming into the interstate, so I moved into the left lane to let incoming traffic go ahead.
Just as this semi was getting ready to pass me, I felt myself getting ready to pass out. I slowed down, hoping I’d be able to switch back to the right lane and pull over onto the shoulder before I finally went out.
It was everything I could do to stay conscious, but I just couldn’t hold on any longer.
No sooner than I switched lanes and pulled onto the shoulder, right as I was turning the car off, I passed out.
I have no idea how long I was there on the side of the road, unconscious.
That was the day I realized my business was literally going to kill me if I didn’t make a change and fast.
Shortly after that, I canceled my contracts and escaped to the woods.
During what ended up being a 4 year hiatus, I focused on meditating and rebalancing my soul, mind, and body.
As I began to heal and stabilize, I began looking at my business, wondering how I could change it to prevent this from happening again.
When I stepped back onto the social media scene, it became clear to me that I wasn’t the only one who had been dealing with this level of extreme burnout.
So I decided to restructure my business to address this head on.
It’s time we challenge this hustle culture notion because, quite frankly, hustle culture is not only killing your business growth, it’s slowly killing you too.
Here’s why.
The Effects of Working Too Much and Not Taking Care of Yourself
Physical Health Consequences
Lack of Sleep
We all know about the study conducted by the National Sleep Foundation that stated adults need 7-9 hours of sleep per night.
However, there are numerous “successful” entrepreneurs that not only brag about sleeping much less, they encourage and even go as far as spreading false truths, saying that in order to be successful one must be willing to sacrifice sleep.
Yet, lack of sleep affects cognitive function, making you more sensitive to stress and less able to handle daily pressures. (And people wonder why they’re so stressed out these days)…
Increased Sensitivity to Stress
When you’re sleep-deprived, your body’s ability to manage stress diminishes, like drastically.
This heightened sensitivity triggers your sympathetic nervous system, keeping you in a constant state of fight-or-flight.
This is why your body is always on high alert and why you’re always so tired – it’s exhausting!
Long-Term Health Issues
Did you know that chronic sleep deprivation is linked to a host of long-term health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, and weakened immunity.
Who cares if you’re a 6&7 figure earner if your health is practically non-existent!
Unfortunately, oftentimes, it’s not until you lose it that you realize health is the ultimate wealth.
Material wealth means nothing if you aren’t able to do anything or if you’re spending it to regain your health.
Sympathetic Nervous System Overload
Let’s talk more about the Fight-or-Flight Response.
This is your body’s natural reaction to stress and it’s great in short bursts.
But when stress is a constant, neverending experience, the impacts are disastrous and it doesn’t take long to see this.
Staying in fight-or-flight mode not only drains your energy, it affects your health in a major way.
Did you know that when the body is operating in sympathetic nervous system mode, your body doesn’t actually digest food?
Which leads to leaky gut syndrome, causing a host of even more ailments and issues.
It’s a loop you don’t want to be caught in, ask me how I know.
I didn’t just do the research, I lived this nightmare for 10+ years while taking up 6 figures in medical debt as a result.
As we continue to go down the rabbit hole and the dark side of hustle culture there’s the consequences of poor diet and lack of proper exercise.
While I’m not one who goes to the gym, and doesn’t actually recommend it, I am aware of the necessity to engage in proper activities that increase your strength, endurance, stamina, and overall well-being.
The Impact on Energy Levels
Poor nutrition and lack of physical activity lead to low energy levels, which, in turn, affect your productivity.
Increased Risk of Chronic Diseases
Skipping meals or relying on junk food and neglecting exercise increases your risk of obesity, hypertension, and other chronic diseases.
Mental and Emotional Health Consequences
Burnout: Definition and Symptoms
Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.
Symptoms include feeling drained, cynical about your work, and lacking satisfaction.
Emotional Exhaustion
Constantly pushing yourself without a break leads to emotional exhaustion, making you feel disconnected from your work and even your passions.
Reduced Sense of Accomplishment
Sure, you’re working harder and longer, but it doesn’t feel like you’re achieving anything worthwhile.
In fact, I say it’s like playing “kick the can” with success and success is the can.
Chronic Stress Linked To Increased Anxiety and Depression?
Research shows a strong correlation between chronic stress and mental health disorders like anxiety and depression.
When stress becomes your norm, it’s hard to escape this downward spiral.
High levels of anxiety and depression affect your ability to function day-to-day, making even simple tasks feel overwhelming.
With Impaired Cognitive Function Comes The Reduced Ability to Concentrate
When your brain is overloaded, your ability to focus diminishes, leading to more mistakes and less productivity.
As time goes on, it becomes more and more difficult to retain information and recall important details, or how about where you left your keys..
We’ve talked at length about how the hustle culture is negatively impacting you.
Let’s Talk About How It Impacts Your Business Growth
Decreased Productivity and Efficiency
Depending on the type of person you are, you’re likely to experience one or the other of the following. Some experience both.
For one group of people, as your focus and attention diminishes, it leads to increased errors and mistakes in your work.
More mistakes mean more time spent fixing them, reducing your overall productivity.
For the other group of people, as their focus and attention diminishes, so does their work ethic – leading to procrastination, self doubt, and even self sabotage.
These people struggle to get anything and end up feeling like it’s all their fault and they can’t figure out what to do to change it.
And there’s a third group of people, who experience both. You can call us the lucky ones. (This is a joke, please laugh.)
Lowered Creativity and Innovation
How often do you feel like you lack creativity?
What if I told you, you didn’t actually lack creativity, you’re just stressed out.
You see, sress stifles creativity.
Your brain needs downtime to come up with innovative ideas and solutions.
This is one of the real reasons why meditation and even simply doing nothing at all for extended periods of time is so important.
Both of which fuel creativity and problem-solving abilities. This is why all our greatest ideas come to us either when we are in the shower or falling asleep.
Busy Work vs. Productive Work
Hustle culture glorifies busyness, not productivity. There’s a big difference between being busy and being productive.
The Myth of Multitasking
Studies show that multitasking reduces productivity by up to 40%.
Did you know that the brain is literally designed to only focus on one thing at a time?
I can prove it.
Go ahead and try to think of a positive thought and a negative one at the same time.
You literally can’t do it. What you can do is think of one and then switch to thinking about another.
The same is true with pain.
Even the body itself can only register one pain at a time, whichever is the most painful.
Which is why you’re encouraged to get a full check up if you’ve been involved in a serious accident because, for example, you won’t even know that your ankle is broken if your arm is also broken.
Until you go to step on your foot that is, and then you’ll forget all about your broken arm. (Until you sit down and need to use it.)
Impaired Judgment Leads To Poor Decision-Making and Leadership
Chronic stress and lack of sleep impair your judgment, leading to poor decisions and increased risk-taking that ends up being detrimental to the growth of your business.
When you’re constantly stressed, you’re more likely to make impulsive decisions that aren’t in the best interest of either you or your business.
Lack of Emotional Regulation Leads To Reduced Leadership Effectiveness
High stress levels affect your ability to regulate emotions, impacting team dynamics and leadership effectiveness.
Making it impossible to inspire and motivate your team, leading to decreased morale and productivity of said team.
And if you have employees, it’s not just you who is being negatively impacted here.
A high-stress environment creates a toxic workplace culture, increasing turnover and reducing employee satisfaction.
High employee turnover costs your business time and money in recruiting and training new staff.
Difficulty in Attracting & Keeping Top Talent
A toxic work environment makes it hard to attract and retain top talent, further affecting your business growth.
Ever feel like nobody wants to work these days?
Perhaps it’s more like nobody wants to work in a toxic work environment…?
These are only the short term impacts the hustle culture has on you and your business.
Long-Term Business Consequences
Stagnation in Growth: Inability to Focus on Strategic Planning
Constantly putting out fires leaves no time for strategic planning and long-term goal setting.
The result is you end up feeling like you’re running around like a chicken with its head cut off. If you’ve ever lived on a farm and seen this, you know it’s not pretty.
Missed Opportunities
Without a clear vision and plan, you miss out on growth opportunities that would otherwise help you move forward.
Financial Losses
Costs of High Turnover and Low Productivity
High employee turnover and low productivity result in significant financial losses for your business.
As does missing out on opportunities to expand and acquire new clients or customers.
Potential Loss of Clients
High stress and burnout lead to inconsistent performance, harming your business reputation.
And can lead to losing clients, damaging your personal reputation.
Not only does this damage your sense of integrity, in most cases, a business has to shut down and rebrand to something completely different.
Conclusion
While the hustle culture might seem like the path to success, it’s truly a dangerous illusion.
The relentless push to work harder and longer is harming both your personal well-being and your business.
It’s simply not sustainable for either short or long term growth and success.
I encourage you to challenge hustle culture and prioritize self-care.
In doing so, you can achieve sustainable success.
It’s time to stop hustling and st
art thriving.
Ready to break free from hustle culture but don’t know where or how to start?
Let’s chat about how you can find balance and continue to grow your business without burning out.
https://elbusinessventures.ace.page/meet/virtual-play-time
