When You Are So Tired You Can’t Go On…and Seven Tips on How to Carry On
Being tired has become a chronic complaint in society. It is an acceptable state of being. Our state of fatigue can come from sleep deprivation, physical exertion and very commonly stress or brain fatigue.
When admitting we are tired, others will often respond in agreement. There is a comradery with fatigue. I am guilty of the “I’m tired too” response. Justifying it, by having a lot on my plate somehow makes me feel less like I am complaining. However, regardless of justifications, when we verbalize something, we make it solid. It becomes our reality. We legitimately feel tired.
Early in my endurance racing career, riding horses 50–100 miles in a day, I was gifted with the most valuable advice I have ever received. Just before a big competition, a friend of mine who is one of the elite mountain climbers, having summited K2 said to me,
“You will get tired out there. You will hit the wall. Your horse will hit the wall. That is ok. It will pass. Don’t give in to it. Keep moving forward. You can always take one step.”
Even when we think we are too tired to go on, we can. Competing in the sport of endurance racing has taught me it is true, you can always take one more step.
The greatest accomplishments of humanity have not occurred because of fatigue or failure. But by perseverance. Digging deep within the well to extract the last bits of energy is what makes us great. If greatness was easy, everyone would do it.
Seven Tips on How to Carry On
1. Set small goals. When I was in competition and either I or my horse had run out of gas, setting mini goals was how I coped. Sometimes I would dismount to give my horse a break walking alongside him. My goal may have been just to make it to the next bush, or the next tree, it could have been a matter of 10 or 20 feet. Each time we accomplished the mini goal, I became stronger. After a few successes, I would feel revived enough to get back on pace.
2. Shift your thoughts. Instead of focusing on your fatigue focus on your breath. Find beauty or curiosity in your surroundings. Look to the horizon with eagle eyes taking in the expanse in front of you. If someone asks how you are doing, don’t respond with how tired you are, respond instead with a positive remark… Just to be clear, sometimes we need to stop and rest, however when that is not the option, and we must carry on… Carry on with an uplifting attitude.
3. Focus on your task at hand. A joke at the beginning of a 100-mile race, after going just 1 mile, someone would shout out, “ great only 99 miles left to go”. We would laugh and cringe at the same time, knowing we were in for a long day. Focus on one phase of the project at a time. Then check it off the list once accomplished.
4. Be the Tortoise. The story of the Tortoise and the Hare illustrates that to pace yourself is a strategy for winning. Slow and easy. Don’t expend energy unnecessarily. Be the Tortoise.
Sometimes a reprieve is needed to continue on.
5. Step outdoors. Take off your shoes and walk on the ground, the grass, the sand or on stones. Something natural, not concrete, nothing synthetic. Remove your shoes and socks. Naked feet on the naked earth. It is a practice now popularly called grounding or earthing. I call it a normal daily activity.
6 Hug a dog, a cat, a horse or if you must… a human. Animals have the amazing power of rejuvenation, Their bodies are like giant biobatteries. Hugging or petting animals has scientifically been proven to reduce stress and to calm the nervous system.
7. Be Mindful. I know it is not always possible to block out what is going on around you, Even if for the briefest of time, shut the external sensors off. It’s like in a movie when everything goes slo-mo and it becomes silent. Enjoy it. By doing so will allow you to experience a blast of energy from being in the present.
The Let Go knows everything is a temporary state of being. When we are so tired we think we cannot go on… Remember, this too shall pass.
A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.
~ Christopher Reeve
