A lack of energy often results from a lack of action.
There are two types of fatigue: The first kind comes from physical exhaustion, resulting from physically exerting your body for a long period of time.
The second kind is almost the opposite. It actually results from a lack of action, low mental and physical activity, and low dopamine in the brain.
Often, the second kind is mistaken for the first. If you’ve ever felt tired, then rested for a short time, and then proceeded to feel even more tired and sleepy, you know this feeling.
A Lack of Energy
When I was in school, every vacation or break followed the same pattern. In the few weeks leading up to it, I had a feeling of anticipation and motivation, and planned what I wanted to get done.
However, when the time comes, this is quickly replaced by feelings of tiredness, a lack of energy, and lack of motivation. Every day, I would sleep in until noon, go to sleep past midnight, play video games for hours in the evening, and spend hours scrolling social media at night. This created a vicious cycle of low quality sleep and low productivity.
Then, after I finished my last courses in December 2021, I again had this same feeling. This time, I was done school (done!). However, two weeks in, I started to revert to these old habits.
The Turnaround
Then, on Christmas day, a friend and I decided to start an exercise challenge, using a free YouTube workout. It was a simple, full-body, no-equipment, 20-minute workout–nothing compared to going to the gym. The important thing is that we agreed to do it in the morning, at 9:30am. Considering that I had spent every day of the last week waking up at around noon, this was somewhat of a challenge.
Doing this created a new feeling of energy and motivation. I felt so energized and alive every morning. I had never before been able to build a habit of morning exercise, and when I tried, it always felt exhausting and uninspiring.
As I write this, we’ve continued this habit every day for 45 days. Yes, it’s everyday bro. Since then, we’ve changed things somewhat. Now, we alternate between the original workout, and on the other day we do a Chloe Ting workout and a basic push-ups routine. Also, we now do it at 8am, instead of 9:30.
Summary
A lack of energy often results from a lack of action.
Instead of viewing a lack of energy as a result of doing too much, realize that it is likely from doing too little.
A simple, short workout in the morning can make all the difference. How do you commit to that? Get a friend to do it with you.