It sucks to feel tired.
Especially when you find time to yourself to do the things you dream of doing when you finally have the time. Alas. Your time shows up and all you want to do now is to plop down and zone out.
Or, you decide to make a quick run for a latte, possibly with some yummy lavender or mocha flavored syrup in it. That run takes longer than expected. You get distracted by the people you run into, by the quick stop to the store as long as you’re out, and by the email or other notification that pings you. Poof! Your time is gone and you’re feeling a bit more delated. This vicious cycle increases frustration and decreases your sense of capacity.
This is a bad habit. One that you will be resistant to breaking. But you got this, you’re brave.
Coffee: Running on coffee ultimately depletes your energy further, and as with any addiction, makes you think you need more of it. Not only does it mess with your circadian rhythm, it weakens your nervous system.
Naps: While some people are great at taking a 5-minute power nap and waking up refreshed, others are not. Know what happens to you with naps; if you’re not careful, naps can cause you to habitually become tired, often at the same time(s) of day, often during your YOU time.
Of course: There will be times when you truly are in need of sleep because you sat all night in an ER with a loved one. Or because you’re jet lagged from traveling long distances. In which case, this is not a habit but a true need for sleep (not coffee). But even in these scenarios, the following bullet points apply. Because…
The best way to get back on track when you’re off track is to get back to the natural, circadian rhythm ASAP.
Your entire being loves rhythm. It’s what gives you energy flow.
Let’s do a quick run down of these rhythms first, and then I’ll give you a powerful hack to break the habit of coffee and naps.
Get up with the sun. If you get up later, you are more likely to drag, feel heavy, complain, and suffer from sinus issues.
Have lunch when it’s lunchtime. Don’t rush it.
Do the most creative things that are most meaningful to you in the morning when you have the most energy and your mind is fresh… and before the world dumps all of its agendas on you and takes over your mind and energy. Never catch up on emails, social media, or the news first thing in the morning… unless it’s a vital part of your job, and even then, not the first thing you do. What I’m saying is, set your mind first before other minds set you.
Move your body after lunch. Go out for a walk, or move around indoors if outdoors isn’t an option. Just don’t go straight to your screen. A little movement is often enough to make a world of difference.
Do the more administrative stuff, like checking your emails, in the afternoon, and use the afternoon witching hour to run an errand or two. Bars call this time between 3 and 6 pm happy hour, when we’re most vulnerable to our addictions, like alcohol, naps, sugar, salt, gossip, social media, and mental anguish. If you’re getting in the car for errands during this rush hour time, seize this opportunity to listen to an audiobook that elevates your mindset. It will simultaneously override your habit of road rage. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle is a good one. So is Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza. Free yourself from preconceived notions and let their words blow you away.
Have a light, early dinner. Again, don’t rush. This will support a better morning for you.
Turn off the news and social media early so you don’t take it to bed with you, making it yet another thing you have to process in your sleep. Or worse, keep you up.
Don’t go from busy and intense straight to bed. Instead, maintain a soothing bedtime ritual. Your body needs the sleep prompts the way children do: brush teeth, take bath, put on pajamas, read a (light) book, kisses, lights out. Yours can look similar. For bonus points (and by that I mean energy), stretch your body and do a short meditation. A good bedtime ritual is ultimately much, much more effective than any oral sleep aid from a bottle.
Here’s what you can do to overcome the coffee and nap habit.
This is a meditation to help you ‘power through’ in a much more sustainable, energy-regenerating way. The beauty of it is you get to close your eyes and learn to relax. You will teach yourself to be energized-relaxed as a natural state of being instead of tired and dependent on external stimulants.
Set your timer for 5 to 7 minutes so you’re not continuously looking at the clock. Commit to being fully present with this process for those minutes. With practice, you’ll know when you’re ready to open your eyes without the timer. With practice, you’ll be able to do this without closing your eyes.
Sit with your spine as straight as possible with your eyes closed. Posture makes a difference in energy.
Visualize the first letter of your name with squiggly lines before and after it to represent energy. This visual comes from Dr. Joe Dispenza, and I’m so grateful to him for this. Use this prompt to activate life force. Every time you lose yourself in thought, go back to this visual. Here’s mine:
My visual prompt: “S” for Savitree, surrounded by energy field Turn your focus away from the limitations and heaviness of the physical and into the light, unlimited potential of energy. Simply observe your energy field without labels, stories, or judgment. If you’re not sure what an energy field is, turn your attention, not to your emotions, but to the sensations in your body without attaching them to labels, stories, or solutions. Simply observe.
Cue your breath to relax.
Visualize your letter with the energy field (represented by the squigglies) surrounding it.
Now imagine doing the thing you would be doing if you had energy.
Bring that visual into your body. Run through and feel the successful doing of it. Take your time here.
Feel the immense freedom, self-worth, and sense of empowerment and purpose you gain from doing what you’re doing, and from finally being the way you want to be. Feel into all the things you get to experience as the domino effect of it. Feel them as vividly as you can. Feel the reality of it. Rather than making this a wish for the vague future, experience it in the present moment. Gratitude has a way of dropping things into the present moment, so genuinely feel grateful for this experience. Take your time to make these feelings memorable, vivid and felt in your physical body.
You know how when you can’t remember your password but your fingers can? This is body memory at work, and it’s sticky and powerful. It’s made through repetition and emotion. The stronger your emotion, the greater the physical, actionable recall.
When we get tired, it’s often because we feel stuck. Subconsciously, we are recalling the past, negative memories that are stored in our pain bodies into the present moment, manipulating our thoughts to recreate those same past experiences today while simultaneously making us believe that we are protecting ourselves from making those same mistakes. Read that again. It’s exhausting. Instead, create a memory you want to experience over and over again by practicing the above.Keep sitting tall with your breath relaxed and stay in the here and now. The moment you begin to worry or get lost in your monkey mind is when you’ve lost the present moment and gone into the past and future. Nothing happens in those time zones.
Focus NOT on how, when, what the problems are, or what else you have to do today. Instead, allow flow to happen. Flow is being in the now.
When the 5 minutes is up, or when you’re ready, open your eyes. Sit for a moment and feel the spaciousness around you. Carry this forward into your day. Let this be the body memory you learn to plug into until it becomes your natural state of being. When you catch yourself forgetting, visualize your letter surrounded by energy. With practice, this visual will prompt you right back to where you want to be. In no time, you will stop forgetting.
Additional notes
You’re practicing a new habit of being. It will begin to change your way of being.
Until then, you will have tantrums. It’s part of moving through.
Try not to get frustrated when your ego gives you uncomfortable body cues to lie down and doze off, or tells you that you still have some fumes left to run on, to just take that coffee and get those “important” things done.
Your job in this meditation is to sit through the tantrums instead of reacting to them.
Your most important job is to break the habit of being an obedient soldier to your monkey mind and instead take command over it. Let it become your servant again; what it was always meant to be.
There is nothing more important to do than to learn to tap into your creative energy source, else you remain a bundle of overwhelmed reactivity wearing down both your nervous system and your spirit, and quickening your aging process.
With practice, you will overcome the habit of fatigue, find your energy flow, and the capacity to do your thang.
Love always, Savitree