One of the buzzwords in business and success talk is hustle, emphasizing a life of constant focus and drive. The intention behind this is not all bad. Dedication, consistency and hard work need to be emphasized in order for a person to live an effective life.
To be successful, we are taught to have an unrelenting driveness in pursuit of our goals and dreams, no matter what it takes.
But at what cost?
The benefits of living a non-stop can lead to business success, more financial gain and recognition of “success.” Yet the costs are life threatening.
The Cost of Drivenness
Every day, I sit down with people who have lived a life of drivenness and constant hustle. Yet in the trail of their endless pursuits, they have left their marriage, children and emotional health in the dust. They often come to me when the nervous breakdown occurs. A lot of this is because they have lived a life where drivenness took over.
Constant busyness and never-ending driven living is like a drug. Get some sales, make some money and get some attention and you can get sucked into the vortex of that lifestyle. You can easily become deceived into thinking that those areas will fulfill the emptiness in your heart. But at some point, the driven pursuit of success will spit a person out at some point. Because it does not provide the fulfillment we hope it can.
Yet the problem is, once you engage the driven level of living, it can be very hard to turn it off or throttle it down. That is because most people find their identity and validation in living a driven life. Without those achievements and accomplishments, there is very little identity left apart from those things.
The One Area Drivenness Is Needed
The Bible teaches a lifestyle of rest and there is a great deal of urgency connected to this. Hebrews 4 tells us “let us labor therefore to enter that rest” (Heb 11:11a). This basically means, “hurry up and get into rest!”
Sounds a bit strange, but it’s true. You need to labor as hard as you can to enter into rest—all day, every day. To use modern day terms, “hustle to get into rest.”
That’s how important divine rest is to your life. Wanna finish the race strong? Hurry up and get into rest every day.
I know this the potential to overwhelm so many who live in a daily grind of stress and only know to be driven to perform. But it is a kingdom mind-set that must be established in us if we are to defeat the fear that propels us to stay in drivenness.
The assignment for our hearts, every morning, is to diligently enter into the rest of God, which will have an effect in every part of our life. Yet this goes counterculture to how most people around you live. Beware, lest you get sucked into a motivation that will leave you empty.
Pulling back the layers of drivenness allows us to examine what is really going on in our hearts:
- Who am I apart from my accomplishments?
- Do I really trust in God’s ability to work in my life?
- Is the pressure of life all on me?
- Do I really believe that God has my back?
- Where do I find my security and validation?
We won’t change our lifestyle unless we are willing to face those questions.
If you are ready to face yourself and what is really going on in your heart, then make the changes. It may be challenging at first, but there is no better way than to live in His rest. It’s here. It’s available.
Run into it as fast as you can. {eoa}
Mark DeJesus has served as an experienced communicator since the 1990s. As a teacher, author, coach and radio host, Mark is deeply passionate about awakening hearts and equipping people towards transformational living. His message involves getting to the core hindrances that contribute to the breakdown of our relationships, our health and our day-to-day peace. He is well-versed on struggles that originate within our thoughts. Through his own personal transformation, Mark is experienced in helping people overcome and live fruitful lives. He is the author of five books and hundreds of teachings. He hosts a weekly radio podcast show called “Transformed You” and blogs at markdejesus.com. His writings have been featured on sites like charismamag.com.
This article originally appeared at markdejesus.com.
Joseph Mattera 
BJ Foster 
Shelby Bowen 
