More Days Off
We've all been there. It's late at night or early in the morning and you're scrolling on Instagram, seeing photos and captions from people you admire pushing this "no days off" lifestyle. It makes you feel lazy. You feel like you should be addicted to the hustle, when in reality, you're overworked and exhausted.
I found myself down this rabbit hole a few days ago. I also noticed that any time I wasn't doing anything productive towards my career, I felt guilty. Even a shower seemed too time consuming and inefficient. Like, what? I was like, "Hey, girl. You need to reevaluate." And then something unexpected happened. My grandfather passed away while I was assisting on set of a shoot.
His passing opened my eyes to how toxic this mindset can be. If you want to work 18 hour days every day and put your career before everything, that's your decision. That's an amazing amount of dedication, and you will probably reap success because of it. I admire that. I also understand the enormous amount of work it takes to get anywhere in life, especially if you want to build your own business (which is something I do want to do)!
I was talking to a friend last night about long-term goals, and how it's important to dedicate time to the things that matter in the long run. He spoke about how his family and coaches wanted him to go to football camp the summer before high school. They all wanted him to be a professional athlete. His mother gave him two options: he could go to football camp or he could go to Italy to spend the summer with his grandparents. He chose Italy! He got to spend an amazing summer in the country of his origin with his grandparents before they passed. He told me how he thinks back on that decision and is so thankful for that summer, and how when he's 80 he is going to look back fondly on those memories.
When you're 80, what are you going to remember? What are you going to be happy that you did? It's important to do the work and put in the time and dedication to your goals, but it's equally important to make time for friends and family. It's good for you to take the weekend off to show an old friend around your city. It's refreshing to meet your parents for happy hour sushi, put your phone away, and really spend time with them. It's amazing to take some time off (if you're able) to travel somewhere you've never been.
Some people believe in working really hard right now, so that in 50 years they can enjoy their life to the fullest. I believe in making every part of your life enjoyable. We aren't promised tomorrow. You might work really hard for a long time and not end up where you want to be. You might as well take a couple more days off and have some god damn fun along the way.
xo
ash