I used to wear a leather bracelet that said Slow Hustle. It was a gentle daily reminder that hard work is important, but it's only important in the context of something bigger. It was a shorthand way to say "Work hard, but slow down on a regular basis to recognize the other important areas of your life."
Or at least that's the way I read it, and the reason I wore it.
We shouldn't have to caveat the word hustle with the word slow, but hustling has been put through the ringer for years now. If we think about the classic definition of hustle we should think of something like a basketball player diving for a loose ball. They hustled in the moment, doing everything they could to have a successful outcome.
But instead what we usually think of is the modern day hustle - someone working non-stop, driving blindly toward their ambition without regard to the peripherals of their life. And this is where the word loses its' meaning and requires the caveat "slow" to retain its' original meaning.
That basketball player hustling for a loose ball is laying it on the line, but only for a brief moment in time. Outside of those brief moments they are resting, observing, moving, and going through the motions.
Hustling is a sprint, not a marathon.
As Derek Sivers says, "Most people overestimate what they can do in one year, and underestimate what they can do in ten years."
Please don't hustle. But if you do, hustle slowly.
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