Have you ever had one of those days where you know exactly what you should be doing, but you just…can’t? And it’s not because you don’t care, but it’s because you are feeling unmotivated or is something else happening?
If you’re anything like me, the judgment probably comes pretty quickly. You tell yourself you need more discipline. You wonder if you’re just lazy. Maybe you even worry that you’ll never reach your goals if you keep having days like this.
I know that feeling because I have those days too. The last one was, yesterday. I have a lot of energy naturally. My astrology is a testament to that. I tend to get a lot of things started and mostly, done. But then sometimes, I just…can’t.
For years, I judged myself for days like that but lately, I’ve started wondering if I’ve been looking at it all wrong.
What if those days weren’t a character flaw but instead, my body’s natural defense against burnout?
How many times have you heard yourself, or one of your friends, say, “I pushed myself until I got sick”? Ah, ah, let me, myself, count the ways….Unfortunately burnout was just a way of life for me. Or so I thought.
When I look back, I realize that many of the times I stopped working wasn’t because I chose to stop. It was my body that stopped me. I either got sick or I was so exhausted that I could barely get out of bed or focus. Yep, prime real estate for a Type A, Asian American gal to self-flagellate.
But I asked myself, what is my body wasn’t failing me? What if it was just protecting me?
Eureka! Something different is happening…the intelligence seems to be coming earlier.
Instead of getting really sick, I have a day where I just simply….can’t do anything. I will beat myself up for like 45 minutes (hey, better than a full day.) Then, here’s the game changer – I make my own intelligent choice – I rest. I do what brings me joy, whether it’s staying in bed alittle longer or peeling myself off my couch just to get something from the fridge. TMI perhaps but it’s helping to set the scene 😉
So the next time you feel exhausted, unmotivated or unfocused, instead of “pushing through,” try something different. Take that information as a sign, a gift and give yourself a break. Your energy is precious. Your health is precious. Without either, anything you do will feel forced and then, you will probably get sick because your body will make you stop.
You’re not avoiding or being lazy. It’s called resetting, people. And then boom, you’re back. Maybe not always better, but you’ll definitely eventually come back. When you do, give yourself a pat on the back for not subsiding to the inner storm and self judgement. Energy dips just needed to be seen, understood, cared for and boom. Like magic, we are back.
The word burnout has become such a household word that it barely fazes anyone anymore. We say, “I had a burn out” the same way you say “I had a cold.” All of this is making me wonder if it’s just our body’s way of protecting us all along.
One of the reasons I love Feng Shui so much is that it teaches us to pay attention. And not just to our physical environment, but to another very important environment – self. Without self, there would be no environment!
I’ve spent almost twenty years observing energy in homes, spaces and people. The more I pay attention, the more I realize that energy isn’t something to judge, rather something to listen to, and very carefully.
Maybe the goal isn’t becoming more disciplined. Maybe it’s learning to notice the soft signs before your body has to scream for you to hear it. I laughed after 6 hours on the couch yesterday because I hadn’t realized that I watched 4 episodes of a Spanish series dubbed in French. Yes, I watched a Telenovela dubbed in French. Heck, why not? My body and brain didn’t discriminate. It knew *exactly* what it needed.
And now, I’m back.
