Over a Beer: Quit Your Side Hustle and Ride More

Editor’s Note: “Over a Beer” is a regular column written by Greg Heil. While Greg is the Editor in Chief for Singletracks.com, any opinions expressed in this column are his alone and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Singletracks.com.

Hustling is hot right now. Creating a side hustle, I mean. The companies Uber, Lyft, and AirBNB are largely based on this idea.

Some people create a side hustle because they need the extra cash to stay afloat in today’s difficult economy. Others do it because they are dissatisfied with their current job and think that doing something–anything–where they’re their own boss will make them more fulfilled in life. Finally, a third group has created a side hustle because that hustle is the passion of their lives, what they feel they are meant to do on this planet.

In this article, I’m talking primarily to the second group of people.

I think that often, we expect too much out of our occupations. We expect them to be fulfilling and meaningful and to motivate us to be the best human beings possible… and then inevitably, our jobs don’t do that. It’s too much pressure to put on a place of work.

So we feel discontent, and maybe we start a side hustle, a second job that we think will eventually lead us to happiness and contentment.

You know what the problem is? Hustling takes time. A lot of time. I’m here to offer a different solution:

Quit your side hustle so you can ride more.

If you’re reading this article, chances are you like mountain biking. A lot. So what if instead of heading home (or maybe out on the town) to hustle after your day job finishes, you just quit your side gig and rode your bike instead? What if you spent your free time doing something that you know you love, and let the rest of your life just be?

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Maybe, just maybe, your job can be the thing you use to fund the rest of the fun and fulfilling things you get to do in life. Maybe riding your bike in beautiful places, spending time with amazing people, and living deeply in the present moment is enough. Maybe you don’t need to put pressure on your occupation to provide that sense of fulfillment.

Because mountain biking takes time, too. An astounding amount of time if you do it regularly. After 10 weeks off the bike while recovering from surgery, I’m astounded by the amount of free time that I have on my hands because I’m not riding.

The only question that matters: how do you really want to spend your time?

[see_also id=’232522′]

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