We Share A 'Collective Delusion' That Overworking And Being Successful Are Positively Correlated. Says Arianna Huffington. It's Time To Slow Down.

Arianna Huffington launched her namesake The Huffington Post news website back in 2005. Two years later, she collapsed in her office from exhaustion and sleep deprivation, hitting her head and breaking bones in her face. 

Now, nearly 20 years out from her accident, Huffington has some thoughts about America's culture of overworking, which she shared with CNBC host Julia Boorstin on the network's "Changemakers and Power Players" podcast.

"We are all suffering under this collective delusion that in order to be successful, in order to achieve, we do not have the luxury to take care of ourselves," Huffington said. "The science is so contradictory. The truth is, the more we take care of ourselves, the more creative we are, the more effective we are, the more successful we are."

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In her new role as founder and CEO at Thrive Global, a technology company that aims to change workplace behavior using science-backed tools, Huffington is focused on helping others find better work-life balance and healthier pathways to success that don't result in major burnout.

"Just think of your life," she told Boorstin. "Is it a successful life if you end up in a pool of blood on the floor of your office? And now we have so much data and so much science that, in fact, we are more effective when we give ourselves time to recharge."

Huffington went on to acknowledge that understanding that overworking is damaging, and actually making the changes necessary to slow down are two very different things. It's often incredibly difficult for young, up-and-coming professionals to cut back on work, she says, because of how ingrained that go-go-go attitude is in our culture. 

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"Even now, you have Silicon Valley CEOs competing with each other about how much sleep they got, and how much deep sleep and how much REM sleep, and wearing their Oura rings," she said. "Especially for younger people starting in their career, there is still the fear that if they take time to recharge and take care of themselves, they're going to be left behind."

This is where Thrive comes in. The company helps workers take what Huffington has termed "micro-steps" towards that change.

"It's not about New Year's resolutions," she told Boorstin. "I'm going to get eight hours of sleep or give up sugar or whatever. It's very hard to keep these resolutions." 

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"But if you think of micro steps, which is at the heart of what we do at Thrive, small daily incremental steps that gradually become healthier habits and a healthier life, you begin to feel differently," she continued. "You begin to see how you are more creative. You are a better leader. You are less reactive. You come up with better ideas. You face challenges better, so it's impossible not to see the difference." 

As for herself, Huffington says getting enough sleep, regular movement, and giving herself grace when she misses the mark have been the microsteps that have made the biggest change in her own life.

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