10 Reasons You’re Tired All the Time
Energy is one of the most precious resources we have and we shouldn’t take it for granted. Once gone, it takes a lot longer to restore it than to preserve it by staying on top of our healthy habits in due time.
So where do we begin when we get in the exhausted zone?
We start with a physical examination!
Let’s check your vitals
Here are some of the most common physical reasons as to why you’re running low on energy:
You’re not resting enough
You’re not drinking enough water
You’re drinking too much alcohol
Your not eating enough healthy stuff
You’re not exercising enough
Once you apply some changes to the way you take care of your body through an improved sleeping schedule, diet and routines, you will see a difference in the way energy flows through you.
Even adding more walking to your lifestyle can bring an increase to your serotonin levels (also known as your “happy levels”), which in turn will give you an energy boost!
But there’s a layer deeper than the physical symptoms, which could explain more holistically why you’re running low on energy.
The soul is the layer we examine a lot less. Yet this is where we are most likely to find the actual answer as to why we might feel so deeply tired, unmotivated, distracted or irritable from time to time.
Let’s do a soul check
A soul check is a little bit like a “vibe check” (something that the cool kids like to say on social media these days).
While the vibe check seeks to understand what’s your mood in the present moment, a soul check seeks to examine how experiences in the past have contributed to your thoughts and feelings today.
Here are some of the most common psychological reasons that could explain why you are feeling tired all the time.
1. You’re not spending time with the right people
It was Jim Rohn who said, “You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” The people we surround ourselves with become the people we trust most with our deepest thoughts, secret desires and fears.
If you’re investing in relationships that no longer stimulate or support you, then they will slowly start to drag you down, both in terms of energy and (self) development.
The right people will encourage you to be yourself and believe in your goals, to try again when you fail, and to keep dancing to the rhythm of life — together.
2. You’re unsure about your life path
When you find yourself questioning everyday decisions or start to feel apathy towards some or most aspects of your life, it might be time to re-evaluate your path. Maybe you’re ready for a career change? Or a move to a new city? A new country perhaps?
New beginnings happen all the time. Change is present, whether we want to acknowledge it or not. The least we can do is dig a little deeper and try to examine exactly what we’re feeling when we suddenly lose the appetite to leave our comfort zone.
3. You’re holding onto resentment, guilt or shame
While drinking 2–3 extra glasses of water might be a relatively easy task, learning to forgive people who have hurt us intentionally might take a little longer.
Resentment, guilt and shame are some of the hardest feelings to shake off. They stay with us long after we begin to think we’ve moved on. Plus, they might get triggered when we least expect.
Taking time off to rest and heal is always a good idea if heavy feelings start to weigh you down. Positive affirmations might be useful, too!
4. You’ve committed to more than you can handle
Saying “Yes” to everything might seem like an appealing idea (“Sure, I can do it all!”), but at the end you will most certainly end up burning out.
Remember that workaholism is a type of addiction, even if you’re passionate about what you do.
Running low on energy because we’ve overcommitted does not make us heroes. You don’t have to be a martyr to succeed in life.
To be successful in your pursuits, you have to know when to slow down and when to keep up the pace — it’s all about the balance.
When you feel the first stages of burnout (for example, you’re more irritable or you feel less like socialising with friends), take a day off to just do nothing. Go for a walk, watch a favourite film, and spend time doing an activity from your childhood. Yes, playing with Legos is strongly encouraged!
5. You struggle to love yourself
Self-love is not about “I will love myself when I lose 5kg” or “I will love myself when I find a job like Karen’s”. These sentences might seem like positive reinforcement and words of motivation, but talking to yourself in the future tense or comparing yourself to others means that you are in serious need of some self-care.
Loving yourself means accepting yourself as you are — imperfections and all, no comparisons and no judgement. It is simultaneously the most difficult and the easiest task in the world. Why? Because the transformation from self-judgement to self-love takes seconds with the right mindset!
Giving yourself regular time dedicated to self-care, such as getting your nails done or going for a bike ride, is essential for nourishing the relationship with yourself, because that’s the relationship that lasts a lifetime.
6. You seek perfection over progress
Similarly to overcommitting, being a perfectionist in a world that is imperfect means that you are doomed to crash and burn at some point.
To accept that there’s no perfection, only continuous progress based on continuous efforts, is a sign of true wisdom.
Consistency will get you there, but in the meantime block some space in your calendar to breathe and reflect on the progress, so that you also keep a view of the full picture at all times.
7. You have no boundaries
The only thing worse than saying “Yes” to every task is saying “Yes” to every person. We all need some time off for ourselves. If we fill every available hour in our calendar to spend time with others, there will be no time for self-care.
Implementing strong and healthy boundaries will not only strengthen your relationships, but it will remind others to value your time. Don’t feel guilty about saying “No” more often. We all have limited resources of energy — make sure you’re investing yours in the right committments.
8. You are putting up with bad treatment
We often accept the treatment we think we deserve — from partners, employers, friends, family, neighbours, and so on. When we know our value, we demand to be treated better. If we don’t receive the treatment we wish to get (such as, money, attention, care, honesty), it’s okay to leave people and places we love when they no longer sustain us, but drain or hurt us instead.
The first step is to understand your needs, then you have to speak up. Once you know where you are and where you want to go, it will be easier to have the tough conversations required to move on to the next phase of our journey.
9. You can’t accept uncertainty
There will always be an element of mystery and uncertainty in life. That’s just something we have to learn to live with. Releasing our need to control every second of our existence will not only make us more relaxed, but it will open our eyes to new opportunities that we might have otherwise missed.
When we stop controlling everything, we can focus on the things that are within our control and make a bigger impact with our actions.
10. You’re bored with your lifestyle
When you get bored, you seek distractions. When you stay distracted for too long, you no longer feel as grounded in the present moment. This means you are more likely to rely on distractions to give you a structure for the days ahead, instead of creating your own routines.
If you find yourself reaching for the phone more than usual, try deleting some of the apps that are keeping you unproductive. It’s a small action, but a powerful one, because it’s designed to re-set an unhealthy habit and transform it into a healthy one.
And if you’re unsure about what’s next, talk to a friend. The people we spend the most time with might know a thing or two about us that we haven’t even recognised in ourselves yet — like a hidden power card you can play in your next challenge.
Woah, some heavy stuff here, right? Well, life doesn’t have to be that difficult.
It’s important to be honest about your desires, needs, expectations and priorities. When you know who you are, it becomes a lot easier to make the right choices and commit to the right people and places.
Final check
The thing is you can attempt to sleep better, eat better and exercise more, but if you only focus on your body and ignore your soul, your efforts will not make a big difference in the end.
When you keep both your mind and body nourished, energy will flow through you consistently, giving you a better shot at achieving your goals and creating a library of unforgettable memories.
