Have you been living the hard life?

Hustle culture

The hustle culture means lots of us are working harder and for longer hours. The goal of the hustle is to achieve professional goals and earn more money. Sounds like something that is sure to lead to burnout, right? But the hustle culture has been normalised in society over the last few years. 

It is generally accepted that people can only be successful if they work hard. Sounds right in theory. But the reality is, it leads to an over-identification with work. And that means living a hard life.

Workaholism and toxic productivity

Spending every possible hour at work and taking on additional responsibilities. Working hard and struggling is not an achievement. Success doesn’t have to be defined by hard work. Toxic productivity is the obsessive need to be constantly on the go. It is the feeling that you should be constantly busy. It’s what makes you strive to go the extra mile at work. But times are changing. It’s now becoming increasingly popular to work smarter, not harder. This means finding ways to get the tasks done without the struggle. There are so many productivity hacks out there, it just doesn't make sense to work all the hours.

What’s the danger of living the hard life?

Working all the hours might mean you make more money, but at what expense? We can convince ourselves that working long hours and saving up will benefit us in the long run. But what about the short-term? Spending all your time at the office might feel like you are creating the best future. But you won’t enjoy yourself at the time. The biggest danger is that you are vulnerable to stress.

Stress negatively impacts your health. Being exposed to high levels of stress hormones damages your body. It can lead to high blood pressure, impact your immune system and cause depression and anxiety. Living the hard life is one cause of stress that we can avoid. How? By shifting our mindset and embracing the soft life.

What is the ‘soft life’?

Living the soft life is basically the opposite of living the hard life. When you live the soft life, you make a conscious choice every day to live a life of ease. When you live the soft life, you make decisions that keep your vibe high. If something is going to cause stress, then it isn’t worth it. It means prioritising your wellbeing and mental health. So if your friends and family are causing conflict, you don’t have to spend time with them. You are more aware of your inner life. So if work isn’t right, you will find an alternative or quit. This is another way of preventing burnout from a build up of stress. 

We’ve all got problems - we’ve all got solutions

There’s no doubt we are living in a highly stressed-out world. And we all have problems. When you live the soft life, you don’t need to glorify them. Complaining about your issues breeds negativity and prevents you from creating a solution. When we start reframing our problems as challenges our attitude changes. We can figure out solutions to overcome them rather than letting them stress you more. It’s all about perspective. it isn't about ignoring your problems and pretending they’ll go away. It's about recognising our challenges and being creative with our solutions that kick stress out.

Protect your energy and maintain boundaries

Don’t feel like you have to say yes to everything that comes your way. Practising the power of ‘no’ is a great way to protect your energy and prioritise self-care. If you get asked to stay late to finish a task at work, don’t feel guilty for saying no. Perhaps you have a social event you don’t want to miss but feel too tired. It’s your right to say no without feeling like you are letting someone down. Maintaining your boundaries means you won’t be used by others and it lets people know where you stand.

Gratitude

Gratitude is all about giving thanks and appreciating what you have. Hundreds of studies have proved the benefits of gratitude and how it can improve your life. When you recognise the positive things in your life, it boosts your mood. And the best thing? It’s free and easy to do. 

Some simple ideas to practice gratitude are:

• Every morning spend a few minutes thinking about all the things you are grateful for. This puts you in a positive frame of mind to face the day.
• Share gratitude by telling people how much you appreciate them. To really increase your gratitude levels try volunteering for a charity.
• Write down everything you are grateful for. You could keep a gratitude jar or write in a journal. 

Why is TikTok glamorising the soft life?

TikTok is the ultimate influencer platform. Plenty of beautiful people sipping champagne, taking fancy trips and generally living a luxury lifestyle. The #softlife applies to upmarket hotels, luxury spas and upgrading to first class. Living a luxury lifestyle may look glamorous, but isn’t always practical for the majority of us. The reality is we still need to earn money, pay the bills and keep up with our commitments. 

But don’t worry, living the soft life isn’t just for the wealthy, we can all live a soft life. By shifting our attitude and making a few lifestyle changes, the softlife isn’t just a TikTok dream. 

How to live a soft life

TikTok glamourises the soft life to encourage us to be happier. We can all appreciate what we’ve got and add a lil’ bit of luxury into our lives. It’s definitely a TikTok wellness trend worth supporting. And it doesn’t mean spending all your cash or getting into debt.

Try these free ideas for living a soft life:

• Appreciate every day
• Practice self-care
• Learn to say no
• Detox your relationships
• Set yourself some goals
• Have a sleep routine
• Live in the moment
• Embrace positivity
• Eat healthily
• Take luxurious baths

When you live the soft life, you aren’t constantly pushing yourself to attain the unattainable. You recognise how you are feeling. Then you can take steps to make yourself happier and get rid of stress. And less stress means you will enjoy life a whole lot more. There are no set rules to living the soft life. For some of us it means focusing on self care and chilling with a ripple+ RELAX. For others it means saying goodbye to toxic relationships. For all of us, it’s about prioritising our mental health. 

Life is for living

Life is short. We don’t want to look back and wonder why we spent so much time stressing. There is so much beauty in life that we often miss. Why? Because we are stuck in our heads.

Start living the soft life and make stillness and gratitude a daily practice. When you detach from high levels of stress, you will be amazed at how much happier you feel. 

It’s time to give up the #grind and embrace the #softlife. We’re not making any promises, but you might even skip your way to work. Hey, you never know!