You Really Are Crushing It: One Overachiever’s Journey Through Chronic Illness, Achievement, and “the Hustle”
This is for those of you who are barely getting out of bed each day. For those wondering if their work is good enough, are questioning their path, and doubting their success. You’re crushing it, too.
My boyfriend and I were early for a movie (RIP Movie Pass) and sitting in the lobby talking about the week while I sipped my overpriced wine.
I cautiously began talking about a conversation I had with a friend about “the hustle” and what it meant for those of us with chronic illness. How I was avoiding reading Crushing It because I knew it wouldn’t be good for my mental health, yet not wanting to admit it because it would be perceived as weakness in the marketing/startup/semi-ridiculous world where I’ve built a career.
We each need to determine what crushing it means to us without basing it on the world’s standards.
My boyfriend, the sweet, logical ABA therapist that he is, said, “you’re already crushing it.” Then I cried a bit, blamed it on PMS, and we went into the movie.
He was right though. We each need to determine what crushing it means to us without basing it on the world’s standards. Far easier said than done, but it’s true.
I spent the next week dissecting what that meant to me. I made a mental list of everything I had accomplished over the past few years. It affirmed that it was far from just sitting back and letting the world pass me by. It was filled with risks, triumphs, failures, and growth.
It began in Nashville, the city I consider my second hometown and one that I never would have left without the gentle (okay, not so gentle) push from God directing me to California.
My life has been filled with risks, triumphs, failures, and growth.
While in Nashville, I:
- Learned how to treat a chronic illness while opening at Starbucks four to five days a week. (If you can get up at 3:30 am with a crap thyroid you can do anything.)
- Started and ended a company with a business partner, making many mistakes but also learning what I wanted in a career.
- Worked my first real “desk job” at Warby Parker where I learned so much about business growth, customer experience, and operations from my desk in the Customer Experience department.
- Moved to California. This involved new doctors, relying on Google Maps, finding new community, and realizing that my experience in a transplant-heavy city like Nashville hadn’t prepared me for Orange County, where people grew up and often didn’t leave.
- Transitioned roles within a growing agency multiple times, making more mistakes but also a lot of progress. The fact that I can write “made a lot of mistakes” is a testament to my progress. It’s okay to make them, as long we learn from them.
- Found my voice as a writer, and began solidifying my goal of helping others thrive in their creativity.
- Met said boyfriend, who has done the impossible by helping me learn to say “no” to opportunities that don’t fit my time and goals.
And perhaps what I’m most proud of: lived through multiple flare-ups for my chronic illness and have learned how to optimize life and habits and treatment to keep my health as steady as possible.
So, yes. I do believe I’m crushing it. I respect those working 60 hour weeks, and I love seeing their work and growth. (Though… please rest. It’s important. Your adrenals and mental health will thank you.)
But this is for those who are barely getting out of bed each day and wondering if your work is good enough, are questioning your path, and doubting your success. You’re crushing it, too.
