Happy New Year. Here’s to all you anti-hustlers

To all my hustlers—go forth and be you, be all the way you.

To the rest of us—the anti-hustlers—we need a place to belong too.

A place where you can get the job done, but take the time it needs to do it.

A place where the race is on, but only with yourself.

A little time for reflection is a welcome breather. A little space where to not go, go, go feels good, good, good.

As anti-hustlers, we don’t shy away from down time, blocks of boredom, of doing things just because (and not just because they’re practical or productive).

Anti-anything can feel wrong, a bit audacious, a bit who-am-I-to-do-this.

But there’s something to be said about the ‘anti’—more anticipation, higher antibodies (less stress FTW), a remarkable antidote.

We’re not all built the same, even if we’re all built of the same.

You see their hustle and its thrill, and you raise them your anti-hustler elegance and its calm.

You can sprint when you want to, but you reserve the right to go steady and with grace. You embrace your pace.

Because it’s more fun. Because that’s how you’re wired.

So no more guilt, shame, or feeling like you don’t have what it takes. Because life’s path is not linear; there are layers and loops and dead ends and new threads and back tracks. No one is guaranteed a straight way through.

In other words, the path you choose is yours for the taking.

Lest you think this is another one of life’s inevitable either-or propositions . . . no, it’s not.

It’s a call to order, to recognize and to honor the fact that we can be different and do the same, better.

If you’re looking for your next win, the big coup or that laser focus, rally your internal forces and gather round your well of strengths.

Then hustle.

Or, not.

The room is big enough. All that matters is how you decide to own it.