Oh, so you’re tired?
Welcome to the game.
We’re all a little tired around here. It comes with the territory. Sometimes we have to sacrifice a little sleep in order to reach our goals.
And it’s worth it, most of the time anyways.
But I don’t think that it’s cool that you’re tired. I don’t see “tired” as a badge of honor. It’s not. So when I ask how you’re doing and you exclaim, “I’m tired, bro!” here’s what I really hear.
When you tell me you’re tired, what you’re essentially telling me is that you’re not as effective as you could be.
It’s telling me that you require attention.
It’s telling me that you’re fueled by attention, not passion or your responsibilities to the team.
It’s telling me that you’re not fully capable of managing your time, focus, and energy.
In other words, it’s telling me everything else other than how tired you are.
This is about more than being tired.
I’m not advocating for people to never tell others they’re tired.
If you’re tired of something, then you should say something. If you’re too worn out to be effective, then something needs to change.
To me, being tired is a symptom or consequence of something else.
Here’s an example. People may be tired the next day because they stayed up late watching Netflix. You won’t find any sympathy from me if that’s the case.
“Tired” is an almost-sacred word.
There are certainly things that catch my attention.
For example, I have friends who have health conditions that zap their energy. When they tell me they’re tired, it means something to me.
I’ve got friends who are single mothers working two jobs. When they tell me they’re tired, it means something to me.
I’ve got friends who work multiple jobs to support their family. When they tell me they’re tired, it means something to me.
I’m tired is a phrase reserved for people in those situations, not for people who choose other things over sleep.
I haven’t always been this way.
Only a couple years ago, I was almost the complete opposite!
I’d stay up late “working,” just so I could tell people the next day how late I had stayed up. When people would ask me how I was doing, I’d respond, “Tired, man!” I’d shake my head, they’d shake theirs, and we would feel cooler together.
It was almost as if being tired was the goal.
I don’t think I was the only person who thought, felt, and acted this way. Really, I think that mentality is common. Generally, we want to receive sympathy while also feeling tough. Not sleeping much makes us feel tough, and telling others about that lack of sleep usually gets sympathetic responses.
It’s time to move past all that.
Here’s what to do when you’re tired.
Find out why.
Look at your calendar, look at your lifestyle, then make the adjustments you need to make. If you’re chronically tired and you think something might not be right with your health, be unafraid to see a doctor.
In other words, do what you can do to not be so tired all the time.
I know this type of “advice” doesn’t do much. I’ve basically told a basketball player to make it in the hoop or a tennis player to hit it with top spin, but without telling them how to do so.
That’s not the point of this piece.
This piece is about the mentality around being tired. When I stopped forming my life around being tired, I became way more focused on the things that really mattered. And believe it or not, I also became more empathetic to people who were actually tired.
Personally, I told others I was tired because I was fueled by others’ attention.
I’m glad I’m done with being tired.
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Photo: Flickr/Dmitry Kolesnikov
I agree 100% with ‘look at your lifestyle! I know so many people who are always ‘busy’, but they make themselves busy and stressed running around inefficiently and creating their own chaos. A good plan and long term strategy can benefit your sleep and your mental state.