When You Don't Have Everything To Give

As much as we’d like every day to be perfect, where we jump with enthusiasm to take on everything we have in front of us, it’s an unfair expectation to have. Even further there are some days where we’re even lower on the spectrum, we feel more tired, less creative, and less motivated. I believe it’s in these moments where our character really shines, and how we act when we are sluggish is a great indicator of who we are. I’m human and not above any of this myself, in fact as I’m preparing this I feel a little bit of it today. So I want to share a few of the things I’m thinking about that are helping me work through it.

The first is being self-aware and honest about it. Don’t try to reject how you feel, feel sorry for yourself that you feel that way, or judge yourself for not feeling how you want to. Be truthful to yourself about how you feel so that you can work within it rather than fail to overcome it. I did that, and now I’m weighing it against the full and ambitious day I have planned for myself, and in this energetic state it’s daunting. So instead of being paralyzed by that overwhelm and doing nothing, I’m choosing to prioritize a few things on my schedule and give myself more time to do them well. It’s not ideal but it’s certainly better than doing nothing, which could be the end result of trying to do it all.

Then also, give yourself what you need. If it’s a nap then take it. A break then plan it. It’s unlikely you want tomorrow to be the same so make sure you do what it takes to get your energy back on track. Yes, some of this is mindset, and something that might help kickstart a better way of relating with everything is to take a little napitation. Close your eyes and give yourself a midday meditation, and take all the pressure off of how it goes.

When you don’t have everything to give you need to make sure you give something, double down on that somethings and prepare yourself to make tomorrow different. This happens to everyone, and to give some presence to it I’ll ask you to reflect on this question - When was the last time you didn’t have your 100%?

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