I remember a fella who came into my hardware store one afternoon, looking like he’d wrestled a bear and lost. His name was Tim, and his hands were shaking so bad he could barely hold the box of nails I’d sold him.
“Bojangles,” he panted, “my shed’s falling down. My wife wants the kitchen remodeled by next month. And my boss just dumped three new projects on me before Friday.” He let out a breath that smelled like stale coffee and pure panic. “I feel like I’m always running, but I’m not getting anywhere.”
Sound familiar?
In today’s world, Tim isn’t an exception; he’s the rule. We’re all caught up in what they call “hustle culture”… this relentless, secular obsession with doing more, faster, better. It tells us that our worth is tied to our productivity, that rest is laziness, and that we should be constantly striving for that next win.
But as a man who spent his life behind a counter listening to folks’ worries, I can tell you that the hustle culture isn’t building anything lasting. In fact, it’s slowly chipping away at our souls. As Catholics, we have an answer. We have a better way… a way rooted in grace, rhythm, and eternal truth.
The Hammer and the Dance: Why “Hustling” is Bad for Your Soul
Let me paint you a picture with something simple: building a fence post.
A man who’s hustling comes at it like he’s angry. He grabs his hammer, drives nails with furious force, and tries to get the job done in record time. Sure, he might get that post up faster, but what about the next one? And the one after that?
He’ll burn out. His hands will hurt. The fence won’t be straight because he was too busy rushing to measure twice.
Now, consider a Catholic approach. We don’t hustle; we dance with our work. Saint Joseph, the patron of all laborers, didn’t just bang things together in haste. Tradition tells us he was a careful craftsman who understood that his work, no matter how humble, was an offering to God.
When you build something with prayer and patience, you do it right. You measure carefully. You take your time. The post goes up straight and strong. More importantly, you don’t leave the job feeling like you’ve been run over by a truck. You feel the satisfaction of a task well-done – a task that honored both the material and the Maker.
The secular world sees work as an end in itself – the ultimate source of identity. The Catholic world sees work as a means to an end: worship, service, and holiness.
As Saint Paul tells us in his Letter to the Colossians, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for the Lord.” (Col 3:23) Not because of the deadline, not because of the bonus check, but because you are doing God’s will. That changes everything.
Practical Steps to Break Free from the Hustle
So how do we stop being a frantic hammer-swinger and start dancing with our duties? It starts with small, deliberate choices.
1. Schedule Your Rest (Yes, Seriously!)
Hustlers think rest is what you get when all the work is done. But for us, rest isn’t a reward; it’s a necessity woven into the fabric of life.
The Sabbath Commandment: God didn’t suggest we take one day off a week. He commanded it. On Sunday, from sundown to sundown, my store was closed. It wasn’t just good business; it was good theology. That time belonged to Him and to my family, not to emails or spreadsheets.
Try this: Block out a solid 3-hour chunk on your calendar every weekend. Label it “Unplugged Family Time.” No work talk, no phone checking. Just be present with the people you love.
2. Rediscover the Rhythm of Work and Prayer
Our lives should have a rhythm, like a steady heartbeat. The hustle culture wants to turn us into arrhythmic tachycardia patients, racing until we collapse.
The Liturgy of the Hours: This can sound fancy, but it’s just what it says: a series of prayers throughout the day that sanctify time. I never prayed all five hours, but for years, I’d stop at noon and say a short prayer of thanksgiving before my lunch break. It was like hitting the reset button.
The Morning Offering: Start your day with this simple prayer: “O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You all my works, joys, sufferings, prayers, and needs of today in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass.” Suddenly, every email you send, every customer you help, becomes an act of worship.
3. Value the “Wasted” Time
Hustlers can’t stand idle moments. But God often speaks to us in the quiet gaps between the busy.
The Dignity of Downtime: That moment waiting for the coffee to brew? That walk from the car to the front door? Don’t fill it with your phone. Use it to say a “Hail Mary” or just notice the beauty around you. This isn’t wasting time; it’s tuning your soul.
The Patron of Lost Things: Saint Anthony of Padua is the patron saint of lost things, but I like to think he’s also the patron of finding ourselves again in those quiet moments.
A Few Parting Words: Don’t Just Work Hard, Work Holy
Tim from my hardware store eventually came back. He’d taken a deep breath. He said his boss gave him a smaller load and that his wife had made a pot roast for dinner on Tuesday – no rush.
He wasn’t building the same amount of fence, but he was building something better: peace.
The world will always be screaming at you to hustle. It will tell you that your value is in your output. But our Catholic faith whispers a different truth: Your value is in who you are… a beloved son or daughter of God, created for more than just productivity.
So today, I challenge you. Find one small corner of your life where you can stop hustling and start dancing. Say a morning prayer. Turn off your phone for an hour. Make a cup of coffee and sit with it instead of gulping it while scrolling.
Work hard, yes. But work holy. And in doing so, you’ll find that the fence posts you build will last long after the hustle has faded away into nothing at all. God bless.