October 28, 2025 • 22 mins
If you've ever found yourself skipping lunch breaks, working late into the night, or saying "I'll rest when this project is done" ... this episode is for you.
In this thought-provoking episode, Nicky unpacks how our subconscious beliefs silently shape our behaviour, especially when it comes to how we hustle. She takes a deep dive into the difference between healthy hustle and unhealthy hustle and why understanding the spectrum between the two could change everything.
You'll learn:
- The six signs you're operating in the red zone of hustle culture
- The six traits of healthy hustle that fuel sustainable success
- Why "I'll just do it myself" is more dangerous than you think
- How your beliefs might be driving burnout without you even realising it
- Practical shifts to reclaim joy, presence and performance in your work
Whether you're thriving right now or feeling stretched too thin, this episode offers a timely mirror and a roadmap back to what really matters.
Because busy isn’t a badge of honour ... and burnout isn’t a strategy.
Learn more about Nicky at nickymiklos.com
Grab The Growth Code™ here!
Get your a copy of Healthy Hustle: The New Blueprint to Thrive in Business & Life at www.healthyhustle.com.au
Contact: 0403 191 404 | hello@nickymiklos.com
Music by Jules Miklos-Woodley
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:06):
Our beliefs are subconsciouslydriving our behaviour.
(00:31):
And I want to dive into thisepisode looking at what impact
does that have on us asindividuals, as really driven,
tenacious, determinedindividuals, business owners,
leaders, salespeople.
What impact did our beliefshave on how we work, our way of
working, and ultimately onkeeping our hustle either
(00:53):
healthy or unhealthy?
I want to unpack today with youwhat's the spectrum look like
between unhealthy and healthyhustle?
And I'm going to share with yousix signs of each.
So six signs of healthy hustleand six signs of unhealthy
hustle.
So if our beliefs aresubconsciously driving our
behaviors, in other words, theactions that we take, whatever
(01:15):
beliefs we have, we'reconstantly looking for evidence
for those beliefs to be true.
So if I have a belief thatsuccess comes only through
working really hard or hustlinghard is the only way to succeed,
then subconsciously, withouteven realizing it, I'm always on
the lookout for evidence forthat to be true, for proof that
(01:37):
that is actually true, whetherwe realize it or not.
And so this is where thathealthy hustle spectrum comes
into place, because we need toget curious around are our
beliefs driving us, moving ustowards a healthy way of
working, a healthy way ofachieving goals?
And what I mean by that is thatwe can have success, but not at
(01:58):
cost of joy, life, time,health.
Or actually, are our beliefsunconsciously, without us
realising it, driving us towardsunhealthy hustle, unhealthy
ways of working?
Some of the beliefs that pullus into what I call the red
zone.
So that place of unhealthyhustle, another way to look at
that is the red zone.
(02:19):
You know, it could be thingslike, I just have to get through
this project, this delivery,this program, and then I'll be
able to have a lunch break.
Once this contract, this clientagreement is done, then I'll be
able to have a holiday andactually switch off.
Or what about have you everheard yourself saying, it's just
easier if I do it myself?
Or I need to work harder, Ineed to work long hours to get
(02:43):
through this pressure period.
But in fact, that's actuallynot always true.
Yeah, sure.
Sometimes we have to put insome extra hours or some
additional work.
But when we do that for thelong term, when we're
continually doing that, itactually can have the opposite
effect.
Stanford University did a studythat showed productivity drops
(03:05):
so much after 50 hours ofworking that putting in extra
hours doesn't actually make adifference in terms of the
quality of our output.
So let's think on this for amoment.
That means that if you'reworking 70 hours a week or 60
hours a week or even longer, youactually get the same quality
level of output of work assomeone who's doing 50 hours.
(03:28):
You know, that can be actuallyquite hard to believe because we
think in the moment that we'reabsolutely nailing it.
But if we're really honest, ifwe look at the quality of our
work or our conversations or howwe're showing up when we're out
of that loop of hustle and busytrap, we can see that actually,
yeah, that does make sense.
(03:50):
Have you ever said, I've justgot to finish that one last
task?
I've just got to send that onelast email, make that one more
phone call, only to find thatyou end up finishing work later
than you anticipated,apologizing to the people that
are waiting for you at home orat dinner, or maybe having to
(04:10):
cancel that gym class yet againbecause you were late.
Now, interestingly, Amy Moran,who is a psychotherapist and
international best-sellingmental strength author, talks
about the fact that many of usare actually addicted to work.
And these days, there isactually a Workaholics
Anonymous.
And Workaholics Anonymous is aglobal organization that has
(04:33):
been modeled off the 12-stepprogram for Alcoholics
Anonymous.
So, of course, it's for peoplewho are addicted to work.
Now, when you're listening tothis episode, you might actually
be thinking, yeah, I don't havea problem with this.
I'm not addicted to work.
I keep my hustle healthy.
I have lunch breaks, I leavework on time.
That's amazing.
If you do, if you have that,that's great.
(04:53):
Rock on, keep going.
But here's what I want you tothink about.
Oftentimes, the healthy hustlespectrum is exactly that.
It ebbs and flows and itchanges.
So whilst you might be nailingit right now, it doesn't mean
that there's not going to be atime that this conversation
really matters for you.
But the other thing I want youto keep in mind is that chances
(05:15):
are somebody else around you isfacing these challenges right
now, are falling into theseunhealthy ways of working.
And the research backs this up.
The American Institute ofStress reported that 94% of
workers have chronic stress atwork.
94%.
And here on local ground,Beyond Blue did a survey just in
(05:38):
June this year that showednearly one in two Aussie workers
are facing workplace burnout.
Now, testament to all of thisis the fact that we had to
introduce in Australia the rightto disconnect laws.
You know, the fact that we haveto introduce a law that
protects employees, teammembers, staff, to say, I don't
(05:59):
have to respond to my leaders,my boss, outside of working
hours.
The fact that we need tointroduce a law around that is
really, really telling.
So chances are that somebodythat you know is really affected
by this, or you may personallybe.
And again, the healthy hustlespectrum ebbs and flows
depending on what's going on forus in our lives, in our
(06:21):
business, in our careers.
Now, interestingly, also, I'vegot a few stats to share today.
Uh, there was a surveyconducted by Polish academics, a
global survey, that showedpreliminary results that one in
five Aussies are in factaddicted to work.
So if you think about yourworkplace, if you think about
your biz besties, you know, ifyou've got a group of five
(06:44):
awesome biz besties or a team,that's one in five people are
facing this, that might havepepped up, perked up their ears
when I mentioned workaholicsanonymous.
Now, I don't want this just tobe talking about the doom and
gloom of where we're at, but wehave to face the reality so that
we can then lean into the painof that, the frustration of
(07:04):
that, and actually reconsiderhow can we shift our way of
working, of leading, of growing.
And that's why I want to sharethese six signs.
So you can personally identifyfor yourself.
You could do this with yourteam members and with the people
around you to actually look atwhat side of that healthy hustle
spectrum or unhealthy spectrumdo I actually sit on.
(07:26):
So let's break it down.
The six signs of unhealthyhustle, the red zone.
The first is that you haveobsessive thoughts.
You're constantly thinkingabout your work, your business,
your clients.
You're thinking about theprocess, the services, the
solutions, the deals.
You might even be contactingpeople outside of ours.
(07:46):
Now it's different to beingpassionate about the work that
you do.
I'm incredibly passionate and Iabsolutely can get pretty
obsessive about my clients andthe work that I'm doing.
But this is nonstop, no offswitch ongoing.
And it's for the long term.
So you might have been feelinglike this for a while.
There's no light at the end ofthe tunnel.
The second sign is withdrawal.
(08:08):
So maybe there's a majorrollout, there's a major pitch
that's been done, a clientthat's been onboarded, a cool
program that you've beeninvolved in.
And after that thing, that bigexciting thing, there's feelings
of almost anxiety orpotentially depression, almost
like a come down.
What next?
There's a crash.
You feel low, you feel a bitrestless.
(08:29):
And this is where thosewithdrawal symptoms can occur.
Without that pressure and thatexcitement, there's this strange
emptiness that follows.
The third sign is self-worth istied to output.
So no matter how much youachieve, it never feels like
enough.
You're always skipping thewins, moving along to the what
(08:51):
next, what next, what next.
There's a really great podcastepisode that Ness and I recorded
interviewing Andy McCarthy.
And I'll pop the link in theshow notes because it's a really
great episode to listen to ifyou're relating to this.
And this is something that Andytalked about, just skipping to
the what next, what next for 13years in business.
The fourth sign is increasedtolerance to your substance of
(09:15):
choice, in this instance,working hard, your ways of
working.
So for example, all of asudden, skipping lunch breaks,
it's the norm.
Start staying back late, comingin early, it's the norm.
Like I said, being late and uh,you know, not being on time for
your loved ones, for dinner,whatever that might be, all of a
sudden, it becomes the norm.
Which links to the fifth sign,which is neglect.
(09:37):
We're neglecting other areas ofour lives, our health, our
well-being, me time, familytime, the things that bring us
joy.
And sign six wraps all of thisup in a bow, in that negative
outcomes, despite the negativeoutcomes, we don't change our
way of working.
So when you have obsessivethoughts, withdrawal, your
(09:59):
self-worth is attached to theoutput, you have increased
tolerance to these unhealthyways of working, there's neglect
in other areas of your life.
And despite all this, negativeoutcomes continue.
If you can relate to all six ora lot of these signs, then
potentially you are sitting inthat red zone, the unhealthy
(10:20):
hustle.
Now, these six signs ofunhealthy hustle are actually
the six signs of entrepreneurialaddiction or work addiction
that Amy Morin, who I mentionedbefore, has outlaid or laid out
in her work.
Now, again, some of these inisolation might be fine.
Some of these for short termmight be fine.
We can overlay the conversationaround positive and negative
(10:43):
stress here.
Positive stress is good.
It creates momentum, it helpsus want to keep going.
It gives us motivation.
But positive stress uncheckedcan turn into negative stress,
which then turns into chronicstress and burnout and so on.
And what keeps it as positivestress is that there's a light
(11:04):
at the end of the tunnel.
It's a shorter term focus.
I want you to imagine you'vegot a bingo card.
You pulled out a bingo card andyou're going to rate yourself
with these six signs.
How many would you get?
And how long has it actuallybeen in place?
So we talked, I started talkingabout our beliefs
(11:24):
subconsciously drive ourbehaviors.
I want to link that herebecause your beliefs feed into
these six signs ofentrepreneurial addiction or
being addicted to work.
So you might have learnedsomewhere along the way that the
only way to be successful is towork long hours.
Or maybe you picked up, if Imiss my lunch break, I'm showing
(11:47):
my boss that I'm serious aboutmy job.
Maybe you saw your parents oryour caretakers sacrifice time
at the dinner table for theirwork.
These are all the types ofexamples and ways that we
actually pick up on theseunresourceful beliefs that drive
our behaviors to the red zoneor to the healthy hustle zone.
It's all connected.
(12:07):
And so truly, if we can changeour beliefs, we can change our
habits, we can change ourbehaviors, and that is when you
can change your life.
Now, for some of you, thatmight sound a bit woo-woo, but
it's actually true.
I really want you to thinkabout as a leader listening to
this conversation, or you'rewith me, you know, you're
watching, and we're heretogether.
It's so important for you tothink about the example that you
(12:30):
are setting for your people andthose around you.
How are you impacting thebeliefs of your team?
How are you helping them createand embed in their everyday
lives with the habits andbehaviors that they see you
take?
Because remember, action speakslouder than words.
If you say, and I get this alot in coaching sessions with
(12:52):
clients, yeah, yeah, but I tellpeople that it's really
important that they finish ontime.
Get out of here.
What are you doing here?
Get out of here.
Or to have a lunch break.
And that's great, awesome, Ilove that.
When I ask that leader, do youdo that?
Do you finish work on time?
Or do they see you working pasthours?
And even behind the scenes,emails at 10 p.m.
(13:13):
10 p.m.
for some reason is like thesweet spot time.
At the moment, I'm hearingpeople say, Oh, yeah, I'm
checking my emails at 10 p.m.
or, you know, for some reasonit's 10 p.m.
is the sweet spot for peoplejumping back on and, you know,
checking and sending emails.
Now, if that's you and that isa really hard habit to break for
you right now, or it's positivestress and it's short term,
(13:35):
although I'd argue that's not ahabit we ever want to be getting
into for many reasons, um, youknow, to do with our sleep and
screen time and circadianrhythms.
And Ariana Huffington wrotesome really great books on this.
But if that is you and you'relike, Nikki, I'm not ready to
give that up yet, okay, pleaseschedule the send of the email,
at least so your team don't seethat you're sending those emails
(13:57):
late at night.
Because when you say it'simportant for you to have
work-life balance or leave workon time, but you're not actually
doing that yourself, you'reactually telling them a
different story.
They won't believe the wordsthat you say.
Not fully, not a hundredpercent, because actions speak
(14:17):
louder than words.
So make sure they see you takea lunch break.
That if you are working afterhours, it's for a short-term
period and for a particularreason.
Okay, so I trust that you'vegot that really important
message and you've heard thatloud and clear.
And the action I want you totake around that is really
reflect as a leader, even as asalesperson, as a sales leader,
(14:39):
leader, business owner, how aremy habits and behaviours, my
actions, how could they beimpacting the people around me?
A quick interruption to thispodcast episode.
I'm really curious, do you wantto close more sales in less
time?
If the answer is yes, which Ihope that it is, then you need
to get your hands on the growthcode.
(15:00):
It is going to give you threeproven frameworks and tools that
will help future-proof yourbusiness and scale with clarity.
All you have to do is head downto the show notes and click the
link below.
So let's flip the script now.
I want to focus on healthyhustle.
You've got your bingo card,you've got how many out of six
(15:21):
for unhealthy hustle for the redzone.
But what does healthy hustleactually look like?
When I really consider this,and I've taken Amy Morin's Six
Signs of EntrepreneurialAddiction and considered, well,
actually, what is the spectrumthat we're shooting for that we
want to get to?
Because when you're in healthyhustle mode, it looks and feels
(15:42):
very different.
You know, again, you're gettingresults, you're outcome-driven,
but you actually feel reallygood about it.
For example, you have honoredboundaries.
You have no-go zones in place.
You know, no-go zones are areally great place to start.
If you work with me and you'relistening to this, chances are
you have heard me say this anumber of times.
No-go zones are awesome for ifyou have a really hectic, crazy,
(16:07):
busy schedule.
So we can talk about honouringyour boundaries, setting
boundaries for a start, but thenactually seeing them through,
honouring them.
Sometimes that can be tricky.
I get that.
So a good starting place isjust get really clear on one or
two no-go zones.
That could be one night a weekthat you do not work past 5
p.m., one morning a week thatyou absolutely do not dedicate
(16:30):
to work at all.
It could be no working on theweekends.
What is your no-go zones?
Your no-go zone could be foryou.
It could be for time withfamily.
You know, great example that Ihear a lot is having tech and
screens at the dinner table,checking emails at breakfast.
Maybe that stops.
That could be a no-go zone.
No tech at the breakfast,breakfast table.
(16:52):
Hopefully, not at the dinnertable.
Not doing emails at 10 p.m.
could be a great one.
So honored boundaries is thefirst sign of healthy hustle.
The second sign is that youfeel fulfilled.
So you're not just in thisplace of busy.
We're always gonna be in busy.
But we can almost, it's almostlook like looking at it as a
resourceful busy or anunresourceful busy.
(17:14):
So when we're fulfilled, yeah,yeah, we're gonna be busy.
That's just the reality that welive in.
But we're also celebratingmilestones.
We're acknowledging success.
Third sign is that you haveself-trust.
You back yourself withself-trust.
You're no longer, yourself-worth is no longer tethered
(17:36):
to output.
You don't need to prove yourworth through the amazing
results that you're getting.
Then we've got focusedmomentum.
So the fourth sign is focusedmomentum.
What I mean by that is thatthere is momentum, but there's
clarity.
So progress is steady, notfrantic.
It's not up and down.
Now, for those of you who haveADHD or neurospicy, you might
(18:00):
still feel like it's up or down,just a side note, but
underlying there's steadyprogress.
And you're working within themomentum and your own rhythm.
The fifth sign is that you'reactually living.
So in the book Healthy Hustle,and if you haven't got a copy of
that yet, healthyhustle.com.au,we talk about the six signs of
(18:20):
work addiction in there.
But we also talk in therearound this difference between
busy and living.
And living means that you'represent in life.
Again, it doesn't mean thatyou're not actually technically
busy, but you have more momentsof presence.
You're more aware of momentsthat matter.
You get to the end of the day,and it's not as much of a, oh my
goodness, how did I even gethere?
You might have that a littlebit, but you have milestones,
(18:43):
you have micro moments in theday that actually have grounded
you.
And the sixth sign of healthyhustle is creative flow.
Have you ever noticed thatreally good ideas can come to
you in the shower?
Why is that?
It's because you don't havefoveal focus, laser focus on
(19:03):
something else.
When we take a step back and wegaze at the sky, we have a
shower, or we are not like go,go, go, laser phobial focus on
something, our brain actuallyhas the opportunity to connect
the dots, to connect differentideas, to present solutions to
problems that we've beenpondering, to come up with new
(19:25):
ideas.
The patterns start to showthemselves and present
themselves.
And this is why we need to findspace, connect.
I love micro moments,connecting to earth, putting
your feet on the ground, lookingup the sky.
But the more micro moments, ifwe can, if we can make them
longer, then that's wherecreative flow can happen.
(19:46):
So the six signs of healthyhustle, you have honored
boundaries, you are fulfilled.
There's self-trust and you backyourself, focused momentum.
You're actually living andpresent, and there's creative
flow.
So I want you to pull out yourbingo card again and see how
many out of six, what's yourscore?
(20:07):
And interesting to compare.
How did you relate to andresonate with the unhealthy side
of things, the unhealthyspectrum versus the healthy side
of things?
So to take away for yourtakeaway here, I really want you
to think about what came up foryou when I was taking you
through the six signs on eitherside.
(20:29):
Because that your initialreaction, whether there was a
butt clench moment, a bit of a,oh, I feel a bit sick about
that, or oh my gosh, yes, Irelate, whatever side, or maybe
with the healthy hustle side.
It was like, yeah, I've beenworking on that and I'm nailing
it.
Really think about your instantreaction to everything that's
just been spoken about.
(20:49):
And that is the feedback foryou to focus on one key area.
Whatever gave you the biggestemotional reaction, that's where
you can think about, okay, I'mgonna focus here.
Because it's either somethingthat's missing, it's a gap, or
it's an area that you canimprove on.
So, what was that thing?
And if you need to listen backor watch back to find what that
(21:11):
key point is, I then want you tothink about what resourceful
belief would I need to have tochange or create this habit or
this action or this focus?
What belief would I need tohave?
Now we can go deeper aroundthis and looking at cool, what's
the existing belief that I needto remove so that I can replace
(21:33):
it with?
And that's up to you how deepand how far you want to take
this.
But really, the key point hereis having an understanding that
your subconscious beliefs aredriving your behavior.
In other words, the actionsthat you're taking.
And that's not just true forthe ways of working, but for
every area of your work and yourlife.
So really get curious aroundwhat are my beliefs and how are
(21:57):
they impacting me?
Are they pulling me towards thered zone or are they moving me
towards the healthy hustle?
And if I'm really honest withmyself, what's one area that I
can improve to move towardshealthy hustle?
I trust that you have takensome value and some great
insights out of thisconversation.
As always, I would love to hearhow you go with this.
(22:18):
You can connect with me on allthe usual channels, links below.
Until next time, happy sellingand have an awesome day.
Our beliefs are subconsciouslydriving our behaviour.
(00:31):
And I want to dive into thisepisode looking at what impact
does that have on us asindividuals, as really driven,
tenacious, determinedindividuals, business owners,
leaders, salespeople.
What impact did our beliefshave on how we work, our way of
working, and ultimately onkeeping our hustle either
(00:53):
healthy or unhealthy?
I want to unpack today with youwhat's the spectrum look like
between unhealthy and healthyhustle?
And I'm going to share with yousix signs of each.
So six signs of healthy hustleand six signs of unhealthy
hustle.
So if our beliefs aresubconsciously driving our
behaviors, in other words, theactions that we take, whatever
(01:15):
beliefs we have, we'reconstantly looking for evidence
for those beliefs to be true.
So if I have a belief thatsuccess comes only through
working really hard or hustlinghard is the only way to succeed,
then subconsciously, withouteven realizing it, I'm always on
the lookout for evidence forthat to be true, for proof that
(01:37):
that is actually true, whetherwe realize it or not.
And so this is where thathealthy hustle spectrum comes
into place, because we need toget curious around are our
beliefs driving us, moving ustowards a healthy way of
working, a healthy way ofachieving goals?
And what I mean by that is thatwe can have success, but not at
(01:58):
cost of joy, life, time,health.
Or actually, are our beliefsunconsciously, without us
realising it, driving us towardsunhealthy hustle, unhealthy
ways of working?
Some of the beliefs that pullus into what I call the red
zone.
So that place of unhealthyhustle, another way to look at
that is the red zone.
(02:19):
You know, it could be thingslike, I just have to get through
this project, this delivery,this program, and then I'll be
able to have a lunch break.
Once this contract, this clientagreement is done, then I'll be
able to have a holiday andactually switch off.
Or what about have you everheard yourself saying, it's just
easier if I do it myself?
Or I need to work harder, Ineed to work long hours to get
(02:43):
through this pressure period.
But in fact, that's actuallynot always true.
Yeah, sure.
Sometimes we have to put insome extra hours or some
additional work.
But when we do that for thelong term, when we're
continually doing that, itactually can have the opposite
effect.
Stanford University did a studythat showed productivity drops
(03:05):
so much after 50 hours ofworking that putting in extra
hours doesn't actually make adifference in terms of the
quality of our output.
So let's think on this for amoment.
That means that if you'reworking 70 hours a week or 60
hours a week or even longer, youactually get the same quality
level of output of work assomeone who's doing 50 hours.
(03:28):
You know, that can be actuallyquite hard to believe because we
think in the moment that we'reabsolutely nailing it.
But if we're really honest, ifwe look at the quality of our
work or our conversations or howwe're showing up when we're out
of that loop of hustle and busytrap, we can see that actually,
yeah, that does make sense.
(03:50):
Have you ever said, I've justgot to finish that one last
task?
I've just got to send that onelast email, make that one more
phone call, only to find thatyou end up finishing work later
than you anticipated,apologizing to the people that
are waiting for you at home orat dinner, or maybe having to
(04:10):
cancel that gym class yet againbecause you were late.
Now, interestingly, Amy Moran,who is a psychotherapist and
international best-sellingmental strength author, talks
about the fact that many of usare actually addicted to work.
And these days, there isactually a Workaholics
Anonymous.
And Workaholics Anonymous is aglobal organization that has
(04:33):
been modeled off the 12-stepprogram for Alcoholics
Anonymous.
So, of course, it's for peoplewho are addicted to work.
Now, when you're listening tothis episode, you might actually
be thinking, yeah, I don't havea problem with this.
I'm not addicted to work.
I keep my hustle healthy.
I have lunch breaks, I leavework on time.
That's amazing.
If you do, if you have that,that's great.
(04:53):
Rock on, keep going.
But here's what I want you tothink about.
Oftentimes, the healthy hustlespectrum is exactly that.
It ebbs and flows and itchanges.
So whilst you might be nailingit right now, it doesn't mean
that there's not going to be atime that this conversation
really matters for you.
But the other thing I want youto keep in mind is that chances
(05:15):
are somebody else around you isfacing these challenges right
now, are falling into theseunhealthy ways of working.
And the research backs this up.
The American Institute ofStress reported that 94% of
workers have chronic stress atwork.
94%.
And here on local ground,Beyond Blue did a survey just in
(05:38):
June this year that showednearly one in two Aussie workers
are facing workplace burnout.
Now, testament to all of thisis the fact that we had to
introduce in Australia the rightto disconnect laws.
You know, the fact that we haveto introduce a law that
protects employees, teammembers, staff, to say, I don't
(05:59):
have to respond to my leaders,my boss, outside of working
hours.
The fact that we need tointroduce a law around that is
really, really telling.
So chances are that somebodythat you know is really affected
by this, or you may personallybe.
And again, the healthy hustlespectrum ebbs and flows
depending on what's going on forus in our lives, in our
(06:21):
business, in our careers.
Now, interestingly, also, I'vegot a few stats to share today.
Uh, there was a surveyconducted by Polish academics, a
global survey, that showedpreliminary results that one in
five Aussies are in factaddicted to work.
So if you think about yourworkplace, if you think about
your biz besties, you know, ifyou've got a group of five
(06:44):
awesome biz besties or a team,that's one in five people are
facing this, that might havepepped up, perked up their ears
when I mentioned workaholicsanonymous.
Now, I don't want this just tobe talking about the doom and
gloom of where we're at, but wehave to face the reality so that
we can then lean into the painof that, the frustration of
(07:04):
that, and actually reconsiderhow can we shift our way of
working, of leading, of growing.
And that's why I want to sharethese six signs.
So you can personally identifyfor yourself.
You could do this with yourteam members and with the people
around you to actually look atwhat side of that healthy hustle
spectrum or unhealthy spectrumdo I actually sit on.
(07:26):
So let's break it down.
The six signs of unhealthyhustle, the red zone.
The first is that you haveobsessive thoughts.
You're constantly thinkingabout your work, your business,
your clients.
You're thinking about theprocess, the services, the
solutions, the deals.
You might even be contactingpeople outside of ours.
(07:46):
Now it's different to beingpassionate about the work that
you do.
I'm incredibly passionate and Iabsolutely can get pretty
obsessive about my clients andthe work that I'm doing.
But this is nonstop, no offswitch ongoing.
And it's for the long term.
So you might have been feelinglike this for a while.
There's no light at the end ofthe tunnel.
The second sign is withdrawal.
(08:08):
So maybe there's a majorrollout, there's a major pitch
that's been done, a clientthat's been onboarded, a cool
program that you've beeninvolved in.
And after that thing, that bigexciting thing, there's feelings
of almost anxiety orpotentially depression, almost
like a come down.
What next?
There's a crash.
You feel low, you feel a bitrestless.
(08:29):
And this is where thosewithdrawal symptoms can occur.
Without that pressure and thatexcitement, there's this strange
emptiness that follows.
The third sign is self-worth istied to output.
So no matter how much youachieve, it never feels like
enough.
You're always skipping thewins, moving along to the what
(08:51):
next, what next, what next.
There's a really great podcastepisode that Ness and I recorded
interviewing Andy McCarthy.
And I'll pop the link in theshow notes because it's a really
great episode to listen to ifyou're relating to this.
And this is something that Andytalked about, just skipping to
the what next, what next for 13years in business.
The fourth sign is increasedtolerance to your substance of
(09:15):
choice, in this instance,working hard, your ways of
working.
So for example, all of asudden, skipping lunch breaks,
it's the norm.
Start staying back late, comingin early, it's the norm.
Like I said, being late and uh,you know, not being on time for
your loved ones, for dinner,whatever that might be, all of a
sudden, it becomes the norm.
Which links to the fifth sign,which is neglect.
(09:37):
We're neglecting other areas ofour lives, our health, our
well-being, me time, familytime, the things that bring us
joy.
And sign six wraps all of thisup in a bow, in that negative
outcomes, despite the negativeoutcomes, we don't change our
way of working.
So when you have obsessivethoughts, withdrawal, your
(09:59):
self-worth is attached to theoutput, you have increased
tolerance to these unhealthyways of working, there's neglect
in other areas of your life.
And despite all this, negativeoutcomes continue.
If you can relate to all six ora lot of these signs, then
potentially you are sitting inthat red zone, the unhealthy
(10:20):
hustle.
Now, these six signs ofunhealthy hustle are actually
the six signs of entrepreneurialaddiction or work addiction
that Amy Morin, who I mentionedbefore, has outlaid or laid out
in her work.
Now, again, some of these inisolation might be fine.
Some of these for short termmight be fine.
We can overlay the conversationaround positive and negative
(10:43):
stress here.
Positive stress is good.
It creates momentum, it helpsus want to keep going.
It gives us motivation.
But positive stress uncheckedcan turn into negative stress,
which then turns into chronicstress and burnout and so on.
And what keeps it as positivestress is that there's a light
(11:04):
at the end of the tunnel.
It's a shorter term focus.
I want you to imagine you'vegot a bingo card.
You pulled out a bingo card andyou're going to rate yourself
with these six signs.
How many would you get?
And how long has it actuallybeen in place?
So we talked, I started talkingabout our beliefs
(11:24):
subconsciously drive ourbehaviors.
I want to link that herebecause your beliefs feed into
these six signs ofentrepreneurial addiction or
being addicted to work.
So you might have learnedsomewhere along the way that the
only way to be successful is towork long hours.
Or maybe you picked up, if Imiss my lunch break, I'm showing
(11:47):
my boss that I'm serious aboutmy job.
Maybe you saw your parents oryour caretakers sacrifice time
at the dinner table for theirwork.
These are all the types ofexamples and ways that we
actually pick up on theseunresourceful beliefs that drive
our behaviors to the red zoneor to the healthy hustle zone.
It's all connected.
(12:07):
And so truly, if we can changeour beliefs, we can change our
habits, we can change ourbehaviors, and that is when you
can change your life.
Now, for some of you, thatmight sound a bit woo-woo, but
it's actually true.
I really want you to thinkabout as a leader listening to
this conversation, or you'rewith me, you know, you're
watching, and we're heretogether.
It's so important for you tothink about the example that you
(12:30):
are setting for your people andthose around you.
How are you impacting thebeliefs of your team?
How are you helping them createand embed in their everyday
lives with the habits andbehaviors that they see you
take?
Because remember, action speakslouder than words.
If you say, and I get this alot in coaching sessions with
(12:52):
clients, yeah, yeah, but I tellpeople that it's really
important that they finish ontime.
Get out of here.
What are you doing here?
Get out of here.
Or to have a lunch break.
And that's great, awesome, Ilove that.
When I ask that leader, do youdo that?
Do you finish work on time?
Or do they see you working pasthours?
And even behind the scenes,emails at 10 p.m.
(13:13):
10 p.m.
for some reason is like thesweet spot time.
At the moment, I'm hearingpeople say, Oh, yeah, I'm
checking my emails at 10 p.m.
or, you know, for some reasonit's 10 p.m.
is the sweet spot for peoplejumping back on and, you know,
checking and sending emails.
Now, if that's you and that isa really hard habit to break for
you right now, or it's positivestress and it's short term,
(13:35):
although I'd argue that's not ahabit we ever want to be getting
into for many reasons, um, youknow, to do with our sleep and
screen time and circadianrhythms.
And Ariana Huffington wrotesome really great books on this.
But if that is you and you'relike, Nikki, I'm not ready to
give that up yet, okay, pleaseschedule the send of the email,
at least so your team don't seethat you're sending those emails
(13:57):
late at night.
Because when you say it'simportant for you to have
work-life balance or leave workon time, but you're not actually
doing that yourself, you'reactually telling them a
different story.
They won't believe the wordsthat you say.
Not fully, not a hundredpercent, because actions speak
(14:17):
louder than words.
So make sure they see you takea lunch break.
That if you are working afterhours, it's for a short-term
period and for a particularreason.
Okay, so I trust that you'vegot that really important
message and you've heard thatloud and clear.
And the action I want you totake around that is really
reflect as a leader, even as asalesperson, as a sales leader,
(14:39):
leader, business owner, how aremy habits and behaviours, my
actions, how could they beimpacting the people around me?
A quick interruption to thispodcast episode.
I'm really curious, do you wantto close more sales in less
time?
If the answer is yes, which Ihope that it is, then you need
to get your hands on the growthcode.
(15:00):
It is going to give you threeproven frameworks and tools that
will help future-proof yourbusiness and scale with clarity.
All you have to do is head downto the show notes and click the
link below.
So let's flip the script now.
I want to focus on healthyhustle.
You've got your bingo card,you've got how many out of six
(15:21):
for unhealthy hustle for the redzone.
But what does healthy hustleactually look like?
When I really consider this,and I've taken Amy Morin's Six
Signs of EntrepreneurialAddiction and considered, well,
actually, what is the spectrumthat we're shooting for that we
want to get to?
Because when you're in healthyhustle mode, it looks and feels
(15:42):
very different.
You know, again, you're gettingresults, you're outcome-driven,
but you actually feel reallygood about it.
For example, you have honoredboundaries.
You have no-go zones in place.
You know, no-go zones are areally great place to start.
If you work with me and you'relistening to this, chances are
you have heard me say this anumber of times.
No-go zones are awesome for ifyou have a really hectic, crazy,
(16:07):
busy schedule.
So we can talk about honouringyour boundaries, setting
boundaries for a start, but thenactually seeing them through,
honouring them.
Sometimes that can be tricky.
I get that.
So a good starting place isjust get really clear on one or
two no-go zones.
That could be one night a weekthat you do not work past 5
p.m., one morning a week thatyou absolutely do not dedicate
(16:30):
to work at all.
It could be no working on theweekends.
What is your no-go zones?
Your no-go zone could be foryou.
It could be for time withfamily.
You know, great example that Ihear a lot is having tech and
screens at the dinner table,checking emails at breakfast.
Maybe that stops.
That could be a no-go zone.
No tech at the breakfast,breakfast table.
(16:52):
Hopefully, not at the dinnertable.
Not doing emails at 10 p.m.
could be a great one.
So honored boundaries is thefirst sign of healthy hustle.
The second sign is that youfeel fulfilled.
So you're not just in thisplace of busy.
We're always gonna be in busy.
But we can almost, it's almostlook like looking at it as a
resourceful busy or anunresourceful busy.
(17:14):
So when we're fulfilled, yeah,yeah, we're gonna be busy.
That's just the reality that welive in.
But we're also celebratingmilestones.
We're acknowledging success.
Third sign is that you haveself-trust.
You back yourself withself-trust.
You're no longer, yourself-worth is no longer tethered
(17:36):
to output.
You don't need to prove yourworth through the amazing
results that you're getting.
Then we've got focusedmomentum.
So the fourth sign is focusedmomentum.
What I mean by that is thatthere is momentum, but there's
clarity.
So progress is steady, notfrantic.
It's not up and down.
Now, for those of you who haveADHD or neurospicy, you might
(18:00):
still feel like it's up or down,just a side note, but
underlying there's steadyprogress.
And you're working within themomentum and your own rhythm.
The fifth sign is that you'reactually living.
So in the book Healthy Hustle,and if you haven't got a copy of
that yet, healthyhustle.com.au,we talk about the six signs of
(18:20):
work addiction in there.
But we also talk in therearound this difference between
busy and living.
And living means that you'represent in life.
Again, it doesn't mean thatyou're not actually technically
busy, but you have more momentsof presence.
You're more aware of momentsthat matter.
You get to the end of the day,and it's not as much of a, oh my
goodness, how did I even gethere?
You might have that a littlebit, but you have milestones,
(18:43):
you have micro moments in theday that actually have grounded
you.
And the sixth sign of healthyhustle is creative flow.
Have you ever noticed thatreally good ideas can come to
you in the shower?
Why is that?
It's because you don't havefoveal focus, laser focus on
(19:03):
something else.
When we take a step back and wegaze at the sky, we have a
shower, or we are not like go,go, go, laser phobial focus on
something, our brain actuallyhas the opportunity to connect
the dots, to connect differentideas, to present solutions to
problems that we've beenpondering, to come up with new
(19:25):
ideas.
The patterns start to showthemselves and present
themselves.
And this is why we need to findspace, connect.
I love micro moments,connecting to earth, putting
your feet on the ground, lookingup the sky.
But the more micro moments, ifwe can, if we can make them
longer, then that's wherecreative flow can happen.
(19:46):
So the six signs of healthyhustle, you have honored
boundaries, you are fulfilled.
There's self-trust and you backyourself, focused momentum.
You're actually living andpresent, and there's creative
flow.
So I want you to pull out yourbingo card again and see how
many out of six, what's yourscore?
(20:07):
And interesting to compare.
How did you relate to andresonate with the unhealthy side
of things, the unhealthyspectrum versus the healthy side
of things?
So to take away for yourtakeaway here, I really want you
to think about what came up foryou when I was taking you
through the six signs on eitherside.
(20:29):
Because that your initialreaction, whether there was a
butt clench moment, a bit of a,oh, I feel a bit sick about
that, or oh my gosh, yes, Irelate, whatever side, or maybe
with the healthy hustle side.
It was like, yeah, I've beenworking on that and I'm nailing
it.
Really think about your instantreaction to everything that's
just been spoken about.
(20:49):
And that is the feedback foryou to focus on one key area.
Whatever gave you the biggestemotional reaction, that's where
you can think about, okay, I'mgonna focus here.
Because it's either somethingthat's missing, it's a gap, or
it's an area that you canimprove on.
So, what was that thing?
And if you need to listen backor watch back to find what that
(21:11):
key point is, I then want you tothink about what resourceful
belief would I need to have tochange or create this habit or
this action or this focus?
What belief would I need tohave?
Now we can go deeper aroundthis and looking at cool, what's
the existing belief that I needto remove so that I can replace
(21:33):
it with?
And that's up to you how deepand how far you want to take
this.
But really, the key point hereis having an understanding that
your subconscious beliefs aredriving your behavior.
In other words, the actionsthat you're taking.
And that's not just true forthe ways of working, but for
every area of your work and yourlife.
So really get curious aroundwhat are my beliefs and how are
(21:57):
they impacting me?
Are they pulling me towards thered zone or are they moving me
towards the healthy hustle?
And if I'm really honest withmyself, what's one area that I
can improve to move towardshealthy hustle?
I trust that you have takensome value and some great
insights out of thisconversation.
As always, I would love to hearhow you go with this.
(22:18):
You can connect with me on allthe usual channels, links below.
Until next time, happy sellingand have an awesome day.
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