The Digital Junk Drawer

Hustle vs. Soft Life: Why Both Are Lying to You

Episode Summary

We’ve been sold two extremes: hustle until you burn out, or float through the “soft girl era” once you’ve “earned” it. But neither tells the whole story. In this episode of The Digital Junk Drawer, I unpack the half-truths both hustle culture and soft life marketing feed us, why neither extreme works, and how to find the messy middle where ease and effort actually support your life and business.

Episode Notes

Hustle culture says: grind ‘til you make it.
Soft life marketing says: rest is the reward.

But what if neither is the full story?

In this episode, I open up about my own extremes — hustling myself into collapse, and then floating in a “soft” bubble that didn’t feel like real life. Both left me stuck. 

What actually worked? The messy middle: building a business that’s sustainable, human, and true to me.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Why hustle without direction is pointless.
• The trap of treating rest like something you have to “earn.”
• What softness actually looks like when it fits real life, not Instagram.
• Why neither extreme will give you the business you want.
• A simple reflection to help you define what hustle + ease mean for you.

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