Why I Ditched Hustle Culture (and What I Gained Instead).

This is your permission slip to want more but to get it with less grind.

I’ve “worked hard” for as long as I can remember. In high school, I always had a side hustle. I did pin curl ponytails, tutoring, and worked retail after school. In college, I worked between classes, after class, on weekends. Always doing. Always moving. Always striving. But not to prove anything to anyone else, to prove it to me.


I owed it to myself to be the best. I owed it to my mom to become an amazing woman. She raised me to be strong, resilient, and independent. And I was. I became a perfectionist with hustle and drive. Climbing the corporate ladder. Running my side businesses. Stacking checks. Supporting my family. Building a future.
I was proud of being the “hardworking woman.” Until burnout showed up.

Two years ago, I hit a wall. I was exhausted. Not just tired, I was tired of being everything, to everyone, all the time. And for the first time in my life, I craved stillness. I used to think softness meant being passive or weak. Now I know it means being in command, but in a way that protects your peace.

What Happened When I Chose Softness

When I stopped pushing, I started hearing myself again. I started feeling peace in places where there used to be pressure. The to-do list was still there but I no longer let it run me. I gave myself permission to rest without guilt. I let support in. I delegated more. I outsourced. I slowed down enough to see clearly.

And guess what? The money didn’t stop. The opportunities didn’t stop. But the anxiety? The resentment? The burnout? That did. I realized softness didn’t shrink my ambition it refined it. I stopped trying to be everything and started choosing what I wanted to be and how often.

Welcome to Soft Life Sunday

A weekly invitation to slow down, check in, and elevate. This space is for the ambitious. The intuitive.
The high-achieving woman who’s learning that softness isn’t a contradiction to success, it’s a strategy.

Whether it’s a quiet morning routine, setting boundaries that protect your energy, or curating a life that feels as good as it looks, softness is a form of self-respect.

You don’t have to earn rest.
You don’t have to prove your worth.
You don’t have to stay in survival mode to be successful.

This Week, I’m Asking:

🖤 Where can you choose ease over effort?
🖤 Where have you been confusing busy with productive?
🖤 What would happen if you led your week with softness, not stress?

If this resonates, share it. Subscribe. Or send it to another woman who’s ready to redefine success on her terms. Because we’re done hustling. We’re here to live.

Lead with softness. Live in overflow.

Nakeya B.Comment