10.6.2025

Noise, hustle, and what it costs us (This is part 1 of a 2 part series on Value Based living)

There was a season when my days looked full—meetings stacked, projects moving forward, a calendar that seemed like progress. But inside, something felt misaligned. I was busy, but I wasn’t becoming the person I wanted to be.

Here’s what I’ve realized: living a values-based life sounds simple, but it doesn’t come naturally. We live in a culture that quietly pushes us in the opposite direction.

Think about it:

• Technology. It promises efficiency but often multiplies our demands and steals our attention.

• Distraction. Studies say we check our phones nearly 60–80 times a day. That’s thousands of taps and swipes that add up.

• Constant Input. News, emails, podcasts, texts, streaming—it’s a never-ending stream that fills our minds.

• Too Many Choices. From what to eat to what to watch, the sheer volume can paralyze us.

And hustle? I’ve come to see it’s often just another distraction. Movement without alignment feels like progress, but it can leave you empty.

I used to think focus meant squeezing more productivity out of my day.

Now I know—it’s about clarity. It’s about naming what matters most and creating space to live it.

And I still fall into the trap of squeezing more every day, but I know what I value and constantly use it as a measuring stick to what I’m doing with my time.

👉 A reflection for you: Where are your days full, but your heart feels empty? That tension might be pointing to a gap between your values and your reality.

Awareness is always the first step. You can’t realign what you don’t notice.

…and yes this is meant to feel a little incomplete and short. Keep reading in two weeks!

Next week, I’ll share the shift I made when I began naming my core values—and how that simple act became the compass I didn’t know I needed.

Big Idea

Michael Hyatt on the Hustle fallacy: the trap of working harder, always being on, sacrificing balance in life, having to always prove my worth, the belief that it’s all on me.

Try This

Want a quick way to see where your energy is going? Write down everything you did yesterday. Then put a + beside the things that gave you energy, and a – beside the things that drained you.

What do you notice?

If you try it, reply and let me know what surprised you.

What I’m reading

**Just a heads-up: this post may include some affiliate links, so if you make a purchase, I might earn a tiny commission at no extra cost to you. Rest assured, I only share books & resources that I personally use and love!

Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer

On the Road With Saint Augustine by James K.A. Smith

What I’m listening to (on audiobook)

Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans by Michaeleen Doucleff

Quote for reflection

From Greg McKeown in Essentialism:

"Trying to learn it all and do it all. He seemed to find a new obsession every day and every hour, and in the process he lost his ability to discern the vital few from the trivial many. Everything was important. As a result he was stretched thinner and thinner. He was making a millimeter of progress in a million directions. He was overworked and under-utilized.”

Take care,

Mark