How To Deal With Tiredness

I’ve done some of my best worldly work when I’ve been tired, but it’s come about through surrender. At times when I resisted tiredness, I was working against myself and spending even more energy. But at times when I accepted that I’d not had the ideal amount of sleep and that the brain and body may not have been functioning at one-hundred percent, I actually found easy access to what might’ve been described as a ‘flow state’. Let me share it with you. | Photo by Vladislav Muslakov on Unsplash

Transcript

Tiredness,

Or fatigue,

Is just a label for a bunch of sensations we don't like very much.

There are certain other labels we tend to apply to the various sensations that make up tiredness.

Sluggishness means my body doesn't feel the way I want it to feel.

Brain fog means my brain isn't processing as fast as I want it to process.

Sleepiness means I'm not as alert as I want to be.

The problem in all of these is the wanting.

Does the humble dog complain that it hasn't had enough sleep?

All that's really going on is that things feel a certain way,

But that which feels,

That which perceives tiredness,

Is completely unaffected.

But don't take my word for it.

If you're tired right now,

Consider,

Does your tiredness affect your ability to perceive your tiredness?

I've done some of my best worldly work when I've been tired,

But it's come about through surrender.

At times when I resisted tiredness,

I was working against myself and spending even more energy.

But at times when I accepted that I'd not had the ideal amount of sleep,

And that the brain and body may not have been functioning at 100%,

I actually found easy access to what might have been described as flow state.

Actually I was just zooming out,

So to speak,

From my little personal perspective,

And acting instead from impersonal awareness,

Which is always perfectly lucid and does not depend upon anything to be so.

Maybe it took a little longer to find words.

Maybe reactions were slow.

Maybe I wasn't going to do my best work.

But could I do good work?

It turned out that I could.

Resisting present circumstances is never worthwhile.

It's just a waste of energy.

Things are as they are.

Making issue with them is like shaking your fist at the clouds.

So if what's available to us is 7 out of 10 work,

Then let's do 7 out of 10 work.

Let's relax,

And do really good 7 out of 10 work.

Resisting tiredness just tires us out,

And then we're left with 4 out of 10 work.

Furthermore,

When we make a big deal out of tiredness,

We tend to put pressure on ourselves to sleep well the following night.

And isn't this the ultimate catch-22?

Have you ever slept well by demanding that you sleep well?

Me neither.

The answer to all situations is to relax.

Relax as a tired worker.

Relax as one who needs sleep.

Relax as someone who must dodge out of incoming traffic.

To resist present circumstances is to create tension.

Tension is to opposing movements.

Let's move in one direction or less,

Regardless of what feelings and sensations are present,

And be content.

Reviews

My takeaway: tension is when forces move in two directions. If being content like a dog, that means to me going back to nap. Being content with sleepwalking is still a challenge for me. KEY: 5*Insightful 4*Interesting 3*Okay 2*Not For Me 1*Irritating

Brilliant!

Thank u Dan. I had a ah ah moment right here, just listening to the simplicity of HOW you explained your theories. This has helped me soo much. Love your other talks too. Heartfelt gratitude.

So simple isn’t it. Thank you.

This is So helpful—Ty! It made me think about how we are able to ease into or forget about our sleepiness when we’re staying up late with friends and having a good time?

Thank you for sharing this. It is a plausible additional explanation as to why I find I get the most done - although more slowly than I could under well rested and identical circumstances- in the wee hours of the morning before going to bed. I have long associated this with my brain and mind being forced to slow down due to tiredness, enabling me to focus on just one thing and thereby increasing my productivity and effectiveness (the attention-switching, or erroneously "multitasking," ceases). But you mentioned releasing the tension and accepting the state of being present, and that makes a lot of sense as well. I consciously choose to settle into my present state and open myself up to whatever I can do or accomplish in that state.

This talk has been bookmarked and is being saved to a few of my Playlists. Thank you for sharing these insightful thoughts with us here. I see you and the light within you. Be well. 🤲🏻💖🤲🏻