Creating Space Is Part of Growth
Originally shared May 15, 2025 in the Naked Sunday Newsletter. Adapted for the journal.
Balance.
It’s practically a dirty word in hustle culture.
We’re told that if you want to be successful, you have to sacrifice everything—
Sleep.
Relationships.
Your health.
Balance?
That’s for the unmotivated.
But here’s the real secret:
The people who are genuinely thriving?
They aren’t living in chaos.
They’ve created harmony.
And it doesn’t come from adding more.
It comes from creating space.
Most high performers have been there.
Burnt out. Overwhelmed. Running on fumes.
The knee-jerk reaction is always the same: do more.
Find the next productivity hack.
Sign up for another “get-rich quick” program.
Buy the latest tool or gadget that promises to make life easier.
But here’s the hard truth:
You can’t out-hustle burnout.
Most people are jumping from one burnout state to the next, mistaking the latest trend or shiny opportunity as their breakthrough.
They think if they just push harder, do more, add more, they’ll finally break through to the other side.
But that’s just burnout with a different name.
Real transformation doesn’t come from adding more to your already-overwhelmed life.
It comes from creating space.
Before you can build anything sustainable, you have to clear the clutter:
The commitments that drain you.
The relationships that don’t serve you.
The habits that keep you stuck.
Breakthrough doesn’t come from cramming more into your life.
It comes from stripping away everything that’s not aligned.
When you create space, you give yourself the gift of clarity.
You finally see what you actually want—not what you think you should want.
You recognize who you want to spend your energy on—not who you’re obligated to.
You stop mistaking busyness for progress.
The irony?
Most people are too overwhelmed to slow down long enough to see the truth:
The breakthrough you’re chasing isn’t far off.
You’re just too buried in the noise to see it.
It’s right there, just on the other side of the clutter.
But you have to stop adding and start subtracting.
Related reflections
Until next time…
Love. Every. Body.
