On the Other Side of the Hustle

Last year at this time… whew.

I was coming off the devastating blow of being rejected by the department where I adjuncted. Two years of teaching, engaging the students, and being (what I thought was) a part of the faculty community was not a good enough fit to join the tenure track ranks. A good friend hooked me up with a community college teaching gig, but that was only for a short time and what they wanted to pay me to teach a few summer classes was (1) contingent that the classes would fill, (2) always contingent on someone else higher up the ladder needing those courses, and (3) barely minimum wage.

It wasn’t my lowest point, but it was a few inches above a career rock bottom.

Now, things are very different.

I’m enjoying a job I love, working from home. A lot of my skills from academia transferred. I’m not lesson planning all night. I even had time to finish a couple of novellas I was writing. I work out. I sleep well. I know. Wild, right?

I’m out of the desperate season. I’m out of that place where I’m hustling wondering when it will ever pay off. The pay-off is here. I’m on the other side.

So it’s funny that lately I’ve noticed my moods taking a dip every now and then. I’ve caught myself grumbling and stressed. I’ve wished for a getaway from paradise.

That’s when I remembered some words I told a friend a long time ago.

I think we all have a baseline of happiness. It’s different for everyone, but it’s there. External factors have some effect on it. Maybe you’re ecstatic on your wedding day or when you got that promotion. The joy is overflowing, but eventually when the lights go down and the confetti lands, you’re back at your baseline. Sure meds help. As does having all your basic needs met. That said, eventually, your happiness plateaus to where you started.

The good news about this that you can stop thinking “everything will be better when_______.” Of course, having that relationship you want will be cool. When you leave your crappy job for a better one, you’ll definitely see an increase in your quality of life. No doubt milestones are still significant. I’m saying, there’s a good chance that how happy you are before any of the good stuff comes along will still be within arm’s reach and it’ll sneak up on you.

The better news? You can explore ways to be happy right now right where you are. Because if the external factors only matter but so much and, on a long enough timeline, the highs mellow, you can make this day as good as it gets. Be present and swimming in this current moment knowing this very well is all you truly have.

After all, isn’t the hustle part of the thrill any way?

~jennifer.