Are you feeling tired, the kind of tired where nothing really matters anymore? Have your energy levels dipped to the point that you feel like you are dragging around a leg iron? It’s time to relax and be patient. Save your energy the way water does when it cannot go over an obstacle. Water waits for the rain to fall, so it can collect itself and rise; for at this point it will not hesitate to flow over a rock in the creek or go around it. Water finds its path. Rainier Maria Rilke reminds us: “How deep is the reservoir from where your life flows.”
Emotional fatigue usually correlates with disappointment. You might feel drained because you have been begging for scraps of attention, approval, financial security and love. Ironically, you never had to beg in the first place because you already possess all these jewels. Maybe you don’t know where to look for them.
The antidote to fatigue is to get all fired up and forge your own universe. Your beliefs control your world; whether you believe that you can or can’t do something, you will prove yourself right! Reboot your sense of purpose and see if that doesn’t jumpstart your energy. Start dreaming and reframing your thinking to empower yourself to move in a more hopeful direction. Make sure to be specific about what you envision for yourself. While you are involved in the process of self-excavation, here are some suggestions to help you get fired up:
- Have a good fight! Perhaps you are swallowing too much, suppressing your needs for the sake of others, being far too accommodating. Conflict is not a win or lose situation. Conflict opens the door to change.
- Don’t be an unrealistic optimist! Perhaps you have expected too much and so your disappointment is all the greater. Aim for small successes. Each mini- success will fuel your enthusiasm and drive you to achieve more.
- Build-up your self-concept. Maybe you have been talking yourself down internally or internalizing only the critical comments about your endeavors. Most of us tend to focus on what we don’t have; in other words, we think about that single negative remark over and over again, forgetting about all the compliments we receive. Every day list all the compliments people give you. Soon you will have a more accurate self-concept.
- Are you fighting too much? I know I told you to have a good fight, but are you expending too much energy proving that you are always right? Try to win by losing – apologize when you are wrong and win.
- Tighten your mind and stop wasting your energy. Relax during the in-between stages, loosen your muscles, and use your strength of focus when you need it.
- Don’t let others steal your time. Get a big do not disturb sign and put your phone machine on. Spend your time wisely instead of wasting it.
- Be less involved in the product, the outcome, and more involved in the process.
- Whatever you do, experience the present – don’t dilute it!
Debbie Mandel, MA is the author of
Changing Habits: The Caregivers' Total Workout and
Turn On Your Inner Light: Fitness for Body, Mind and Soul, a stress-reduction specialist, motivational speaker, a personal trainer and mind/body lecturer. She is the host of the weekly Turn On Your Inner Light Show on WGBB AM1240 in New York City , produces a weekly wellness newsletter, and has been featured on radio/ TV and print media. To learn more visit:
www.turnonyourinnerlight.com
