Letting Go of False Beliefs
We have been discussing the transformative effects of evolving openly. You realize that the idea that someone else's shine will dim yours is simply not true. As we let go of these toxic ideas, we become unafraid and proud to share stories about battle scars, trials, errors, and challenges. In this post, we will continue to dismantle other false beliefs.
False belief: If we don't participate in the "hustle/grind" culture, and if we don't add more armor to our already weighed-down bodies, we will surely be destroyed, right? We won't make it in business, and we'll become part of an overwhelming statistic of failed businesses.
Another false belief: We have to activate unbalanced masculine energy, destroy everything in our path, and be selfish, arrogant, and disconnected from our emotions to survive in today's business world. We've got to be guarded at all times.
Recently, I traveled to visit some of our Dames® chapters, and a guest at one of the events, the Director of a large organization who was also starting her own business on the side, said, "I work nights and weekends tirelessly in my side hustle, sometimes until three in the morning. After all, if you love what you do, you don't need to sleep, right? I'll sleep when I'm dead."
I cringed and thought to myself, "Please, NO!" (I can remember when this was true for me - before I had grown past the first six figures in my marketing consulting business, I immediately felt ill in my body.) This line of thinking stems from the old "hustle and grind, fake it til you make it" energy that women must move past and evolve into a new paradigm.
The Chapter President, who knew my blood must have been boiling, asked me to tell my story. I spoke of how I once held beliefs similar to this woman's. More work and putting in more hours would create more impact and more revenue. I then explained how it took me changing my business model and letting go of my old, outdated expectations of myself and my beliefs about success to change my actions to better align with my current business mission. I also honored my design, stopped working so much, and began taking the time off I'd always wanted. To this day, I take three-day weekends, stop work by six pm each day, and regularly check in with my body, mind, and spirit to see if I need to "upgrade my software" - and honor that awareness.
To do this, I let go of the virtuous hustle, changed my mind set and actions, and therefore changed my life. My subsequent successes are visible and help our community grow and change because I choose to evolve openly - letting you know what I go through and how I do it, allowing them to see what was happening on the surface, as well as underneath.
What is one way you have let go of the virtuous hustle?
