What Being Back in the Hustle Has Taught Me About Being Done With It

Knowing the difference between hustle that betrays you and seasons of intensity you choose with clarity.

Dear Friend,

I am back in the hustle. But my relationship with it is so different now.

I feel like that was always the point. To say I was done with it, to go through the life-changing process of disengaging from it, so I could finally feel the way my body and nervous system exist without its constant demands and chatter.

And that’s the thing. The capitalist society we exist in does not reward the time needed to pause so we can discern. To go inward. To allow guidance to lead our next steps. To make choices from a place of real inner empowerment. Instead, we’re asked by an overpowering force of outer creation to ignore our needs for deep rest, for solitude, for stretches of being unplugged y hacer nada. We are taught and encouraged to seek merit by how much we do, how busy we are, how contorted our juggling act becomes, and how loud we are about sharing every move in the instant we make it.

As if not performing for others means what you do has no stage, and with no audience, is it even real?

Here’s what I know about myself…

Once I learn a lesson to the core, once I declare with my whole being that I am done with something, I rarely go back to that place, that person, that situation. Doing so would mean betraying my own wisdom, and I am done with that too.

Wine tasting in Temecula with my niece this weekend at a Latina-owned winery

This knowing does not mean I am immune from repeating toxic patterns. Para nada. Claiming so would be claiming I am free from what makes us human. What I am able to do now is recognize the pattern quicker. Give it space to inform me why it’s showing up and where I have allowed it to manifest reign free. Then, and only then, I can discern how to manage it.

Which tools do I need? Have I let go of my meditation practice? Do I need to write more to clear the mental chatter? Is it more time in nature that I need? Do I just need to call a friend, or maybe book a therapy session? Am I going where the love is or did I fall into lack mentality and pack my schedule with a million calls and to-dos to force opportunities to happen and clients to appear? Did I say yes when a no was what I really wanted?

These are some of the questions I’ve been sitting with this past month, as life has converged into a series of events demanding a lot of me, both physically and emotionally.

There was the launch of Her Wisdom Era last month, which has meant producing and hosting eight episodes, plus managing social, community, and editorial strategy alongside my co-host and co-founder, Cristy Marrero. Her Wisdom Era arrived with so much goodwill that we were quickly invited to present it on Despierta América, Univision’s national morning show, which led to a last-minute two-day media tour in Miami.

It was beautiful. Such a gift. And the travel in and out of my mountain village in Southern California took its toll.

Then there is my daughter’s college acceptance process and high school graduation happening this week. Emotionally, I don’t think I have even begun to fully process what I’m feeling. Es mucho. Time-wise, I blocked my availability this week to receive my sister, my niece, and my mom, who are flying in for graduation. I want to be present for this moment I will only get to experience once.

The added layer to all this is a huge move next month. We are leaving the country, packing up two decades of a life in California to establish my home base elsewhere, and then in September, taking Camila to London for college. I’ll share more later about where I’m being guided to move and why. For now, just know it’s all happening fast, and at the same time. Oh, and I’m also receiving the copy edits for my book in early June and supporting a handful of clients.

So yes, I am back in hustle mode. But not the toxic kind.

I knew this convergence was coming, and I prepared myself for it. Being done with the hustle gave me the blueprint to know how to set parameters around my time and my energy. I blocked off my calendar way in advance. I limited the clients I could take on in May and June. I won’t be sharing here every week for the next two months, and we will double down once I’m settled into my new home in July.

I am not forcing myself to be present for the sake of any algorithm.

The algorithm can adapt to my ‘rithm’.

What being done with the hustle gave me, and what I hope it gives you:

• A nervous system that knows the difference. I can feel when intensity is chosen versus when it’s compulsive. My body always tells me before my mind identifies it.

• The blueprint to prepare. When I see a season of convergence coming, I set parameters in advance instead of getting swept under by it.

• Permission to say no, even to good things. Limiting clients, blocking my calendar, stepping back from weekly publishing. None of it feels like loss. It feels like choosing me.

• A faster recovery from the pattern. I still slip into lack mentality. The difference now is how quickly I notice, and how gently I redirect myself back.

• Trust that my rhythm is the algorithm that matters. The metrics will be there when I return. The people who are meant to be here will still be here.

I want you to know something. When I say the people who are meant to be here will still be here, I mean you.

Thank you for staying. For reading slowly. For letting me move through this season the way my body is asking me to move through it, instead of the way an algorithm would prefer. Whether I pop in here a few more times before the move or you hear from me next from a new window with a new awe-inspiring view, know that your presence is what makes this space feel like home to me.

Take care of your own rhythm. It’s the one that matters.

Con amor,

Ana Flores 🌹

P.S. You know I love chatting with you. Leave a comment or send me a message.