When I worked at the American Academy of Family Physicians, one of the perks was shutting down between Christmas and New Years. As I’ve transitioned to other organizations, that perk went away.
But in recent years, I’ve held onto some PTO to make my own “week off” during that time.
So, what did I do with my time off? Here’s what I didn’t do: I didn’t work on vision boards. Nor goals. I didn’t read all the productivity books. I didn’t plan for how to “crush” 2023.
Instead: I played video games. Board games. Went on a run with the wife, did yoga as a family. Shot pool. Watched movies. Slept in.
And I didn’t do it so I could be a better worker bee.
I did it because I needed it and I wanted to.
Here’s the wild thing, dear Hustle-bros – I didn’t get fired. My success didn’t drop to zero. Customers didn’t quit us. I’m not actually living in a van down by the river.
I saw a gentleman post on Linked In that he didn’t want to be “judged” for working during the holidays. I’m cool with that.
He followed it up with “I don’t half ass anything. So, I’m working today (Christmas) unlike so many others.”
Ah. Ah-ha.
So, you, dear Hustle-bro…don’t want to be judged for how you work, but those of us not doing it your way are “half-assing it.”
Here's a secret – I actually have no problems with hustle-bros. I have no problem if you want to prioritize work over everything else. Truly. That’s your life, you live it your way. You may regret it some day or you may not. But it is your path to choose.
But therein lies the rub. Hustle-bros who experience a modicum of success believe that the only path to success…is their way. They experienced success by eschewing a personal life and boundaries, therefore so must you.
We see this attitude everywhere in life – that not only is “my” way the right way…but any other path is wrong. Worse, not just wrong…evil.
From politics, to healthcare choices to just living our life – everyone seems to believe that their way is the moral high ground and all else is bad. People refuse to even consider alternatives and it’s creating not just friction amongst us but also limitations to our collective growth.
Ideas are ingredients not the end product. Great ideas are often many ideas put together to create a greater product. Yet with our newfound approach to moral superiority in all things…the only ideas we entertain are those that mirror our own held ideas.
In other words…instead of flour, eggs, butter, sugar, salt…etc; all ingredients to make a cake – we use sugar and more sugar and more sugar because we’re only looking for like minded ‘ingredients’ (or ideas).
Then we’re surprised the product (the cake) is awful. But we continue to eat it because it's better to choke down something that tastes awful than admit our error.
But even worse, if someone dares suggest adding eggs and butter to the cake, we label them evil. Chastise them. Make them feel as if they are somehow bad people.
Collaboration, cooperation and compromise are all ‘bad words’ now. The only thing that matters is that my idea ‘wins.’ And more importantly, that your idea is seen as evil.
So, no – hustle-bros, your idea doesn’t ‘win.’ Taking time off “just because” isn’t evil. Nor lazy. Nor any other negative connotation you want to hang on it to give yourself an air of moral superiority. Taking time off will not actually cost people their livelihoods and doesn’t mean they are ‘half-assing it.’ If you don’t want judgement on how you approach life, perhaps try not judging others for approaching life differently than you.
Perhaps all of us can start out the new year by entertaining different ideas and see how those ideas can add to our paths before outright declaring anything different as 'evil.'
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