Hustle Is Important But Not That Important
Are you familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?
Quick summary:
Abraham Maslow was a Psychologist who was able to illustrate a simple order of human needs that could play a huge role in motivation, emotions, and decision making behavior.Basically, you need your basics met first. Like food and shelter.Then you need your social and emotional needs met, like family and friends.Only after that can you go after other things like advancing your career or becoming your best self.We fluctuate up and down these rings of the Pyramid of the Hierarchy of Needs throughout our lives so don’t be fooled into thinking once you’re up, you’re up for good.
Here’s how this relates to hustle, motivation, and your career:
It’s the same with your work ethic, your attitude and your intentions.To be “successful” in your own eyes, you need to work hard. That has to be the first part of the equation.But after that, you need to get adequate rest and recovery.After that you can go after gains in performance and career.After that, you can say “no” to opportunities and narrow your priorities.
Quick pause to focus on the punchline:
I’m sure this all makes sense but I want to be really clear about the process and the order in which all of this can happen.There is a TON of advice out there saying things like “you should say ‘yes’ to every opportunity!”There an equal amount of opinion saying you should “say ‘no’ to more opportunities!”
Not only do you need to figure out what works for you but you need to figure out what works for you right now.
Remember that a lot of advice is “here are the 8 numbers I used to win the lottery” and won’t apply to you, your industry, your decade, your team, or your circumstance.That doesn’t mean don’t try.It means try more.
2 Minute Action
Where are you in the hierarchy of needs?Do you have your basics met?If not, it might be time to reset your goals to focus only on basic needs.If so, it might be time to get out of your comfort zone and push yourself.Identify this today.Your next moves will be clear, guilt-free, and easier to execute after you do.
The Fastest Way To An Idea
The bar is low.
Most people are boring, uncreative, and have a hard time thinking of others' needs.But not you.
You work harder than that.
You can go out of your way to make someone feel welcome.You can go out of your way to stand out.You can go out of your way to make people remember who you are.All you need is to start.You don't even need the idea.How? Try this . . .
2 Minute Action
The fastest way to get an idea?Google it.I'm not kidding. Someone else has probably thought of this before and has written 10 articles on it.The best part is that this generally helps spark other ideas.And that's the punch line.The hard part of getting something started isn't the idea . . . it's usually getting past the thought that you can't come up with an idea.Once you can outsmart or outwork yourself, you're really onto something.
Get Past The Whole "Less Is More" Thing . . .
Most things aren't essential.
And we're all accustomed to the idea that "less is more."And we all agree that "quality is better than quantity."And we are all aligned with the idea that we should "work smarter and not harder."But yet we revolve back to the idea of doing more, outputting more, and producing more--at least, I certainly do.
So what to do?
Reflect.You can allocate 20% of your time (or less at first) to not "doing" things, but taking in new information, verbally processing your thoughts, or giving yourself space to think. The other 80% can still be allocated for good, old fashioned hard work.Structured reflection time is valuable because it can help you zoom out, look at the big picture and remember WHY you're doing what you're doing.It affords you the time to observe your own narrative, question yourself, and refocus on what's important to you in your current stage of life.Working hard in one direction is no good if you find out it's the wrong direction 20 years later.
2 Minute Action
Try a few of these quick methods to get out of the noisy, in-the-trenches work and recalibrate on what's essential.MediateWrite in a journal about what's going on right now.Plan a day-long (or longer) time to turn off your phone and draw out your current goals or visions for the future.Mark off a regular time to read a helpful book or listen to a useful podcast.