When Slowing Down Saves You: The Hard Truth About Hustle and Healing

Every October feels like the same rhythm - phone calls, full calendars, and endless editing. Fall has always been my busiest season. It’s when my family benefits the most: the bills are covered, Christmas gifts get bought early, and for a few months, I can finally breathe knowing the work was worth it.

But last October looked different.

I made a decision that would change everything - to go back to school full-time. Not just any program, but an accelerated one with an even faster workload. I told myself I could do it all: mom, student, entrepreneur, creative, and community partner. And for a while, I did.

Until my body told me I couldn’t anymore.

The exhaustion, the pain, the unexplained flare-ups - things I’d brushed off for years - finally had a name: an autoimmune disease - which turned into two.

It made sense of every sleepless and painful night, every foggy morning, every moment I tried to push through. But it also forced me to stop pretending that I could do everything all the time.

Like so many entrepreneurs, I had convinced myself that more meant better - more clients, more gear, more opportunities, more hustle. But sometimes, “more” is exactly what breaks you.

Entrepreneurs love the chase - the new technology, the best cameras, the upgraded software, the latest “must-have” tool.

But let me be honest: I know people who buy new gear every year, yet their customer service is terrible. I know creatives who upgrade everything except their delivery time.

We get caught up in the bells and whistles because it feels like progress. But new gear doesn’t fix broken systems. A faster computer doesn’t heal burnout.

What we really need to do is slow down, refocus, and repair the holes that keep draining our energy.

I had a lot of holes in my own system - in my boundaries, my workflow, and my mindset. But when I started filling them, everything changed.

After my diagnosis, I started letting go. I delegated projects that drained me. I called on friends - other photographers, public relations professionals, social media experts - to take on the work I couldn’t.

Letting go didn’t make me less successful. It made me present.

I stopped working from a place of burnout and started working from a place of joy. I stopped chasing what looked successful and started pursuing what *felt* fulfilling. I began protecting my time, my health, and my family - the main thing.

And when I did, I realized that my business didn’t crumble. It actually started thriving.

If you’re a business owner, creative, or entrepreneur - hear me:

You don’t need to buy another piece of gear.
You don’t need to say yes to every opportunity.
You don’t need to prove that you can do it all.

You need to protect your main thing - whatever that is for you.
For me, it’s my family and my health.

When you slow down enough to breathe, you make room to build something that lasts.
When you pull back, you finally make space to move forward.

You may see me less at social events.
You may see my name less in publications or sponsorship opportunities.

But you’ll see me smiling more - cheering on my kids, working a job I love, balancing a creative career that fills my cup.
You’ll see me celebrating my friends as their businesses grow from the connections we’ve built together.

Because we can all eat together.
We can all have a seat at the table together.

And I’m thankful that I don’t just pull up a chair -
I built an addition to the table.