Walk a ‘Fine’ Line

Whether you’ve been following my journey since the beginning or only just recently, you probably know that I’m a writer with a day job. That has meant that I’ve always worked in my writing around my work hours, making sure that writing is my number one priority outside of work. Over the years, that has meant I’ve had to walk a ‘fine’ line between the hustle mindset and personal self-care.

All or Nothing?

I’m an avid reader who loves to learn, so in addition to fiction I’m also reading a self-help or business book at the same time. I’ve listened to various podcasts to learn the newest trends and stay current. And I want to say that I ‘fell for’ the hustle-and-grind way of life—that to succeed, I had to stay up late and get up early. And I’ve done that for years, working to finish a book so that I could immediately start on the next.

That also means that I recognize that success depends on the amount of hard work that we put in, and that, in a manner of speaking, it is all or nothing. Or is it? I’ve worked hard to publish five books since 2017, doing it all around a day job. And if I haven’t achieved the level of success that I hoped for, it’s in part because I haven’t always pushed through the tiredness. As I experienced more periods of burnout, I started prioritizing my self-care. I knew I had to walk a ‘fine’ line…

Walk a ‘Fine’ Line

As I get older, I’m learning to walk a ‘fine’ line between the hustle mindset and personal self-care. Because the fact of the matter is that even if I wanted to consistently get up early and stay up late to work on my writing projects, I recognize I’m not twenty anymore. I don’t have that kind of energy, especially now that I’m working overnight. And that’s okay because it’s forced me to rethink how I see success.

And that level of success that I once wanted, or thought I wanted—to be a bestselling author— was it what I really wanted? Or was I chasing after a goal that society tells us that every writer should want? All I know now is that to avoid burnout, to avoid getting sick, I’m listening to my body more. When it tells me to rest, I rest. But when it’s time to work, I work. It’s a ‘fine’ line, but at this stage of my life, I’m okay putting my self-care first and not trying to be the poster boy for hustle culture.

Let me tell you this: You are loved, you are worth, and you matter. And you don’t need anyone’s permission to be—wholly and unapologetically—who you are.