The Paradigm Shift Our World Needs: From Hustle and Pressure to Working From Peace and Rest

(Originally posted in ‘Catholic Women In Business’)

“To permit the grace of God to act in us and to produce in us all those good works … it is of the greatest importance that we strive to acquire and maintain an interior peace, the peace of our hearts” (Father Jacques Philippe).#

Hustle Culture Runs Deep

The forcing, fixing, fighting, figuring it out, and grasping mentality driven by stress, urgency, and scarcity is all around us—and within us. We’re immersed in it by the systems, environments, and cultural dynamics of our environment.

We’re running to keep up, constantly feeling behind, feeling a deep-rooted pressure to “get there” faster. It’s become normal to hustle harder and sacrifice more, with the assumption that it’s how to achieve better results.

Whether the goal is growing in holiness, building a business or ministry, or caring for other areas of life (family, health, relationships), we are, like it or not, part of this paradigm that relentlessly calls us to do more, try harder, fix ourselves, figure out (and get rid of) what’s holding us back, fight all the external battles … basically applying a brute-force approach to the change we desire to see within ourselves, our businesses, and the world.

If we’re honest, though, it doesn’t feel good. It’s exhausting, disheartening, and discouraging. And the worst part is when we end up blaming ourselves as the problem.

And why wouldn’t we? All those voices (spoken or not) tell us we’re the problem. That we need to fight even harder. That we’re behind, somehow lacking, and wrong for not crossing the finish line sooner. We still don’t have it together, and it’s on us to figure it out. (Because it couldn’t be the whole system that’s wrong, could it?)

From this space of inadequacy, insecurity, and pressure, we push through, try to keep up the demanding pace, and do our best to rid ourselves of whatever is “holding us back.”

Sister, is this really how Jesus wants us to treat ourselves?

Consider the Fruits

The effect of this pressure and hustle is a disconnection within the self and with God. It leads to disintegration and the loss of our capacity to be present and receptive—because the now isn’t good enough. With that loss of our capacity to be present in the moment, there is a loss of our capacity to receive grace.

God’s grace is only available to us in the present moment, and we need that grace in order to do His work in the way He wants you to do it.

If you are stressed, hustled, overwhelmed, and burnt out, it is far more difficult to be present with your work and to attract, receive, and support the people you wish to serve.

No judgment here! It’s not your fault. It’s built into our culture.

Good News: It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way

You can choose a different path. There can be deep alignment between how you feel internally and the way you want to help others feel, too. It begins with something you do have a lot of control over: the way you treat yourself in your own inner life.

The disposition of your heart (inner life) as you go about pursuing good, excellent, holy things (and holiness itself) matters.

If your way of operating is marked by irritation, hurry, restlessness, tension, or anger, or you lose peace and patience over others’ imperfections or lack of fervor or when you don’t immediately achieve your desired goal, your work is no longer Holy Spirit-led.

A desire that causes a loss of peace, even if the desired thing is excellent in itself, is not of God.

“Not only must we be careful to want and desire good things for their own sake, but also to want and desire them in a way that is good (emphasis ours). To be attentive not only to that which we want, but also to the way in which we want them” (Father Jacques Philippe, Searching for and Maintaining Peace).

This distinction is so important to be mindful of in business. The cultural paradigm applies so much pressure into hustle and impatience, at a high cost: constant stress, weariness, and burnout. Even if you’re doing beautiful things to heal and serve, you may feel like you don’t have the freedom to slow down; to rest and be; to play, explore, experiment, fail, laugh, and cry.

There’s the risk of a loss of humanity in the process. Where’s the room to be human when you’re just trying to keep up with the pace and pressure? To remember that your dignity and worth is not in what you produce or how you perform? To practice surrender and ask God for His strength? To let others support you? To be patient, understanding, compassionate, and merciful toward others?

Let’s Lift the Shame

Dear sister, we want to lift layers of shame here. It’s the paradigms that are the problem, not you.

In any places of growth—whether we’re building and scaling a business, pursuing personal development, or deepening our relationship with God—we can gently unlearn this pressured, hurried, hustled way of doing things and, instead, learn how to operate and move forward from a place of rest and interior peace.

Yes, it’s possible—and it’s also not all on you to figure it out.

It’s unreasonable and nearly impossible to expect an individual person, who is still in this cultural paradigm on a daily basis, to make these shifts alone. Especially when her nervous system has become so used to this constant state of stress.

How Would Jesus Do It Differently?

Imagine for a moment: What would Jesus do?

In your insecurities, doubts, fears, limiting beliefs, hopes, dreams, goals, and internal and external battles you’re fighting …

Would He tell you exactly what holiness or business looks like?
Would He give you a step-by-step cheat sheet to success?
Would He dictate that you do it exactly “right” to earn His approval?
Would He push you so hard that you collapse under the weight of doing it all?
Would He tell you to fix your mindset, eliminate all your flaws, and figure it out?
Would He give you looks that silently pour on subtle layers of shame for not being good enough or achieving results fast enough?

Or, would He…

Sit with you, hold you, and listen to what’s happening in your mind and heart?
Be present with you as you feel all the things?
Pour compassion on you for all the hurts and things you feel are holding you back?
Gently invite you to slow down; rest; and let yourself be loved, appreciated and cherished—not because of what you do but who you are?
Nurture a deep sense of safety that allows you to begin to release the weight and shame you’re carrying?
Give you permission to be human—to actually need Him and others?
Celebrate your beautiful desire and steps to co-create the Kingdom and bear good fruit with Him—not in spite of your imperfection and humanity but through it?

What would it look like to grow a business or a ministry in the way Jesus would?

He wants to invite you into this loving integration and healing process—not just toward healing as an end in itself but toward a more healing, fruitful way of being, working, and serving, a less forceful—and much more receptive and peaceful—way of living out your vocation and calling.

Jesus wants to meet you in the trenches. He doesn’t ask you to pull yourself up out of the hole by your bootstraps and clean yourself up in order to be worthy of Him.

We know this idea is countercultural. It goes against the pressure you may feel to fight tooth and nail to grow, to achieve, and to become more holy. It may even feel a bit dizzying and disorienting.

But why not learn how to lead ourselves and others in the way Jesus does?

We deeply believe this is what Christ-like servant leadership looks and feels like, and we want to invite you into this shift.

We can grow into this new paradigm, together.

What Becomes Possible …

… if we soften our hearts a bit more and recognize that the healing and growth we’re desiring (internally and externally) is not something we have to grasp at, strive for, or force as much as it is something we receive, in God’s mercy and timing?

It is possible to cultivate greater interior peace and to work and operate from a place of rest and presence. Again, this is where the grace is. We can slow down the pace; create room for safety, receptivity, deeper connection, and trust in ourselves, God, and other humans; expand our capacity to hear God’s voice and follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit; co-create with Him; and receive grace, clients, opportunities, and money.

Will You Dare to Belong to a New Paradigm?

This is truly a different way of being—a restful approach that honors human dignity and dependence on God. It begins with cultivating internal peace.

So, how can we begin to make this shift?

Very gently—because the way we do it matters. You’ll have parts of you that will object or fight back, because your brain’s biggest job is to keep the status quo—after all, that’s what kept you alive so far!

You’ll also experience external objections. It makes no logical sense in today’s business world to slow down, do less, rest more, and trust God.

And, you’ll feel a sense of loss as you do make this change, because it’s an identity shift. That’s normal, and it’s important to honor the past way of being.

Here’s a practical framework to gently make this shift. We call them the 5 As:

1. Practice Awareness

As we’re often spread thin, it can be hard to be fully present and peaceful. Here, we practice bringing attention and energy back into the now.

“What am I noticing in my environment, in my body, in my mind, and in my heart?”

2. Cultivate Self-Acceptance

Here, we accept ourselves and our circumstances with less judgment and more compassionate curiosity about our real, often messy human experience. This step opens space for Jesus to meet us here.

“Where can I accept what is, right now? Even as I am feeling ________, I accept myself and God’s presence with me.”

3. Align Your Direction, Values, and Boundaries

With alignment, we decide on a goal or direction based on our dreams, mission, and discernment with God as well as the values and boundaries that are our guideposts.

“Where am I going? What are the boundaries? What are my values that I’m not willing to compromise?”

4. Arm Yourself With Support

Support may look like coaching, technical tools and resources, collaboration, skills to develop, or permission to rest and create space. It may mean letting go of the things that are weighing you down or not needed at this time.

“What resources, support, feedback, or tools do I need?”

5. Take Action

Sometimes, it’s massive action, but most often, it’s tiny baby steps. When you’ve taken the time and space for awareness, acceptance, alignment, and arming, action becomes a whole lot easier.

“What’s my next step?”

This framework is a non-linear cycle that you’ll continually move through as you grow and journey toward Heaven, living out your calling through entrepreneurship, ministry, or leadership. It is beautiful, hard, sanctifying work that we’re never meant to do alone.

We’re also not meant to do it in the way of hustle, pressure, and push.