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Everywhere on social media there are inspirational messages about pursuing your dreams. While I don’t always resent them, lately I have found myself wondering if these constant reminders to be doing something are not adding stress to an already jam-packed schedule.
I live the double life of the entrepreneur and artist, which means I am often switching between unrelated tasks and calibrating my day with careful attention to detail. In between the freelance translation projects that pay most of my bills, I sneak in content creation sessions for my dance studio (currently closed), teaching online classes, creating choreography, preparing classes, and now, writing articles for Medium. I manage my own finances, keep track of my expenses, keep the house relatively clean, do the groceries, prepare food. I spend time with my partner. I find time to train and work on my dance technique.
So lately, when I see yet again a title suggesting I might not be doing enough, while explaining how hard the hustle of being an entrepreneur is, I have felt irritated. The fact is I do know what the hustle is, I have known it my entire life. Turns out I know what it’s like to stay up late or get up at 4 am to finish a project so I can go do another job later. I have been disciplined, I have educated myself, done research, had a plan. I have shown up for my dreams, day in and day out for the past twenty…