I Stopped Hustling and Found More Success—Here’s How

I’m the first-born daughter. So yeah—striving? It’s been my default setting for as long as I can remember. I’ve always been the helper, the doer, the overachiever. I didn’t know how to slow down—and I definitely didn’t know how to stop hustling. I mean really, I had no idea what it looked like to choose rest over doing, or peace over performance. I used to get stressed about relaxing. If I wasn’t doing something, I felt like I was falling behind. Then I learned that if I stopped hustling, everything would change.

For years, that pace worked. Until it didn’t. I spent 6 weeks of my Junior year of high school in the hospital with stress-induced migraines. Should have been a wake up but it wasn’t. I kept going at that pace for years until it happened to me again in my mid-20s. Did that slow me down? Also no.

Then I had a little existential crisis in February. I cleared my calendar, spent some time outside just quiet. That’s when I got my biggest downloads from God.

Now? I work 15 hours a week max. I take hour-long walks just to talk to my best friend or listen to fiction audiobooks (yes, fiction—not personal development—gasp!). I lay out in the sun in the middle of the day and cook slow dinners that feel like an act of care instead of a chore.

I still like a color-coded calendar. I still check boxes. But I do it differently now. The days that used to be filled edge-to-edge are filled with margin, conversation, and actual breathing room. Not every day is a picture-perfect slow living reel—but most of them feel good. And that’s saying something.

It’s not that I don’t care about success—I do. I’m still ambitious. Still a bit Type A. Maybe more type B+. But I’m learning how to live in a rhythm that doesn’t burn me out. I’ve stopped tying my worth to my output. And honestly? I’ve never been more clear, present, or profitable.

I’m still a woman with plans. I just hold them with a looser grip now.

I’m no longer performing for imaginary deadlines or proving I can do it all. I don’t wake up with pressure pounding in my chest anymore. Instead, I ease into the day—sometimes with a workout, sometimes with blueberry waffles. I let my mornings be mornings, not battlegrounds.

These days, I still get stuff done—but I do it with space to breathe. With room for joy. With less noise.

Some of my best ideas come when I’m doing nothing at all—like when I’m watering my plants, barefoot on the back porch. Or when I’m in the middle of a good laugh with a girlfriend and suddenly clarity hits. It turns out, life doesn’t always require your push. Sometimes it just needs your presence.

I stopped thinking I had to earn ease. And once I did, ease started showing up.

And here’s the wild part—it hasn’t made me less effective. If anything, I’m sharper. More focused. More aligned. My business is doing better, not because I’m grinding more, but because I finally got honest about what matters and what doesn’t.

So if you’re in a season where striving feels like your only speed—I see you. I am you.

But I also want you to know: there’s another way. A pace that lets you be the woman and the business owner. The friend who calls back. The mom who plays. The girl who remembers she’s a person, not just a producer. If you just stopped hustling for a moment, I promise you’ll feel like a woman again.

This pace? It’s honest. Unhurried. Real. And surprisingly—it works.

Hey bestie—if this felt like something you’d DM me about, we should stay connected.

I send out real-life notes on slowing down, redefining success, and making room for what matters (without losing your edge).

No fluff. No formulas. Just me, popping into your inbox with a little clarity and calm.

Let’s keep walking this thing out—at our own pace.