What if the hustle is quietly costing you everything?

Subject: What if the hustle is quietly costing you everything?

Your value isn't in the hustle, it's in the stillness!

Hey Friend

I want to confess… I’ve lost the energy and motivation to hustle.

If I’m honest, I think I lost it about ten years ago, but I kept convincing myself it was just a tired phase - that the spark would return and I’d be back to pushing hard, pulling long hours, proving I could do the unachievable.

But the energy never came back.

And when I couldn’t go hard mentally, I went hard physically. I ran...10 to 15km's most mornings, chasing that high, that sense of invincibility.

It was the same euphoria I got from grinding through ridiculous workloads.

Eventually, my body tapped out.

Foot pain put me out of action for a year. After that came the back, hip, and constant sciatic nerve pain - the kind that makes walking, sitting, even standing a challenge. Eighteen months on, while the worst is behind me, the pain still lingers enough to force me to face my truth. I’ve spent $1000's trying to fix myself, gone down more rabbit holes than I care to admit, and I still can't run more than a slow, short distance without paying for it in the following week.

The runner’s high I was so dependant on? Gone.

And the truth of it is, for most of my adult life, I was addicted to this strange pain–pleasure cycle.

The overstimulation. The moments of achievement and success. The burnout.

Not only in running but in my business too.

I was hooked on the feast-and-famine, the adrenaline of delivering the impossible… until I crashed.

Over the past two years, I stopped preaching sustainable leadership and actually started living it.

I swapped hustle for stillness.

Grind for surrender.

And while I miss the high (oh how I miss the high), I don’t miss the sleepless nights, the irritability, or the depleted immune system.

Slowing down has been the hardest psychological shift of my life - rewiring how I think, work, eat, move, and lead.

I’m ending this year with clarity, calm, and genuine joy. And I didn’t get here alone - it took a coach, a village, and the courage to redefine success on my own terms.

If you’re a senior leader who’s tired of hustling your way to exhaustion, but not yet ready to sacrifice your ambition, let’s talk.

Coaching helped me create the sustainable, powerful, integrated life and career I needed. It can do the same for you.

Be the integrated, dynamic leader - with strength and with kindness.

👉 Book a conversation or learn more at shelleyflett.com.

Shelley 😁

Shelley Flett.

Leadership Trainer, Facilitator & Coach | Shelley Flett Pty Ltd

M: 0407 522 888 | E: shelley@shelleyflett.com | W: shelleyflett.com

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