The Funk and the Hat

May 14, 2025 · Allison Santana

I’m mfn tired. And if you've ever tried to build a dream while clocking in and out of a job that pays the bills, you already know the kind of tired I'm talking about. It's not just physical. It's the kind of tired that comes from living in two worlds at once, one where you're showing up for someone else's bottom line, and one where you're faithfully showing up for your own. I've been in that place lately. And I want to talk about it honestly. I’m not trying to be drag, but I don’t want to pretend I’m not feeling beat some days.

The Hat

Work has been kicking my entire ahzz. I went from having a terrific sales month, to plummeting to the depths of the sales gutter. Some of this had to do with personal changes and some of this is out of my control. This kind of fall can have you questioning everything. Especially when you are your number one investor and the investor of your four children, bills and you quaking Honda Accord. But after receiving a totally expected, kind, but firm talking to at work, I wasn’t feeling so hot. I knew the answer that night was to finish the day to the best of my ability, have some dinner, and go to bed early and prioritize a good night’s sleep. I decided sleep and self-care was healthier than a crash out and I could begin the process of lifting myself out of this funk.

The following morning while slicking down my edges at the bathroom sink, I decide to scroll through mindset content, the kind of videos I go to when I need someone to say something that cuts through the noise quickly. I needed a motivational soundtrack, so I typed in, ‘instant mindset shifts’, and I came across a video that asked one simple question:

If everyone in the world threw their problems into a hat, and you had to reach in and pick someone else's, would you want to?

I sat with that for a minute.

Would I trade my slow sales month, my after-hours hustle, my tired evenings and stretched thin days, for someone else's version of hard? When I really thought about it, the answer was no. Not because my life is so epic, but because everything I'm carrying is also everything I have. The struggle is attached to the dream. The hard season at work is happening while I'm actively building a way out of needing it the way I need it now. The exhaustion is the exhaustion of someone who is in motion.

Has it been my dream since I was a little girl to be an inside sales rep selling water treatment? No. But is it the worst job a person could have? No. Has it funded me this far and helped reinvigorate my brand and my drive with comfort. Yes. It actually has.

The power is mine. The progress is mine. The experience, even when it's uncomfortable, is mine. And I realized that in stark contrast to the things happening in the world, I could really use a chill pill. Seriously, I’m really unimpressed with this modern-day version of hard. I know I am blessed, and I refuse to sink into a negativity bath and pretend I’m not. And with all that in mind, I decided that today’s mission would simply to remember to breathe and do my best.

Choosing to Ride Through It

Here's what I know about myself now that I didn't always know: running from discomfort doesn't make it go away. It just means you have to face it later, usually when you're even more tired and less prepared. And it doesn’t mean it’s not okay to feel down sometimes. Telling myself, it’s too hard to juggle everything at once, I may as well give up. This is clearly not meant for me, blah, blah, USED to be my default. And I think a lot of why it’s no longer my default is the wisdom age provides and finally understand the concept of taking tiny steps forward versus none.

So instead of shrinking, instead of letting the funk win, I made a choice to ride through it. Not to pretend it wasn't hard. Not to perform positivity I didn't feel. But to keep moving anyway. I definitely posted a little mopey TikTok with a motivational twist (I know I’m not the only one going through stuff and struggling), and a funny one urging TikTok to send me 100k followers by Friday so I can quit my job, and then I moved on. And even though my mood wasn’t 100%, I did my best so I could continue to show up to the job that pays the bills and do my best even when the results aren't there yet. Then I decided to come home and pour a little something into the dream even though the well feels low. It is always my job to remind myself that I lifted myself up once before and I can always do it once more.

I also ask myself what my funk is trying to tell me. Seriously, what can I do about the frustrations that are presenting themselves to me? There almost always an answer to the problems I’m facing in showing up as a content creator and affiliate marketer.

Ultimately, that’s what faith and motion comes down to: See the frustrations, feel them, dissect them, come up with the solution, iterate, repeat.

Why This Blog Exists

I'm telling you all of this because my blog and brand, Switching Lanes Diary is not a highlight reel. It's not a success story with a clean beginning, middle, and end. It's the actual in-between. The part where you're still figuring it out, still clocking in somewhere that doesn't fully see you, still building the thing that will one day mean you never have to choose between your peace and your paycheck.

If you're in a funk too, I want you to know you don't have to rush out of it. You just have to keep going through it and know that giving up is not an option. This is just a moment, and this too shall pass.

Pick up your problems. They're yours. And so is everything that comes next!!

xo

Allison