A special thank you to Hilldale for making this post possible. 

I was recently reading a chapter from one of my favorite authors and there was one whole section dedicated to the hustle you need to harness to accomplish your goals. A whole section. While I love and admire this author and many other astonishingly successful women, my heart sank a bit. I wanted to shake my head no as she talked about finding all of the breaks in time when you can push forward — the early mornings, the tiny gaps between anything and everything throughout the day, extending your work time into the late evening and even staying up to all hours of the night. 

I know what this hustle is. I’ve been there. I’ve been in a place where hustle overcame some basic essentials that keep me going like sleep and taking care of my body. I have fallen into the rhythm of not feeling as though I can be successful if I take a moment to breathe.

In a world where we, as moms, are being told to be everything at work and everything at home, there has to be a reality unearthed, not hushed. Some sort of limit placed on what we are capable of — where the word limit is not bad.

Now I’m not saying that you can’t chase your dreams or conquer some major goals, I’m saying, in this world that says hustle, hustle, hustle, my heart is saying halt, halt, halt. 

I have *three very little kids* who need me.

I have the task of breastfeeding and pumping (still nearly round the clock). 

I have a household to keep to a standard which protects my sanity.I have a husband who deserves my attention, adoration and affection. 

I have a desire to place a high priority on making time for my wellness.

I have a job, a business I’m building, passions I’m pursuing, friends I love, groups I am a part of.

The list could go on. 

Essentially, I know how to hustle, and I also know the repercussions of hustling to the extent it feels is being preached to us as women. 

The world may be saying hustle. But, my heart? Oh, it’s saying to halt.

One thing I’ve grown better at throughout motherhood is recognizing in order to be my best self for everyone else, I need to actually be my best self, first. This means taking care of me. I’ve grown to protect time for myself (just as we do for our family) so that the repercussions of hustling — burn out, exhaustion, lack of motivation, neglect of your personal health, losing touch in relationships, growing anxiousness, depression, need I go on? — don’t consume me. 

Late last week, I had the incredible luxury of having a moms day out with my friend Amy at Hilldale. IT WAS SO AMAZING! Yes, I got up early and settled everything in my house + prepped my kids for the day. Yes, I left the house and took a work call before my day of rest. But oh my sweetness, I listened to a book for pleasure on the drive and spent quality time with my friend, while shopping, lunching, caffeinating and catching up. 

I treated myself to a few new items from some of my favorite stores (Lululemon, Free People and Madewell in case you were wondering ) and came home feeling SO good about the time that I took out of my r e a l l y busy schedule, on a week when Mark was out of the country for work and we were feeling stretched a bit father than thin and time I could have used to work, to actually spend on myself. To press pause and take time for friendship, rest, rejuvenation… and shopping, of course.

In case you are feeling the pressure to hustle, be sure to give yourself the space and permission to halt. There’s so much good that will come from those moments of letting go + treating and taking care of yourself.

XO,
Lisa