Finding What Re-energizes You

I listened to a podcast recently that talked about why so many of us are always tired.  You too? Me too! The most common answer and “solution” to fixing the constant tiredness is to get more sleep.  After all, especially for us moms and dads, we have been lacking uninterrupted sleep for years. Ever notice that even after you get a rare chance to nap or sleep in, you are still tired?  And even with a few full nights of sleep, somehow you are still tired?

I have had this dilemma for quite some time but realized a few years ago that there were different types of tired.  For me, I try to assess if at any given time I am emotionally tired, physically tired, or mentally tired. When I was a new attorney working long hours and always catching up on work, I was mentally exhausted constantly.  When I had time off all I wanted to do was go out to dinner, go to a movie, shop, travel, chat with friends, anything to get my mind off of work. When I started having kids I became less mentally tired and much more emotionally tired during the early days of motherhood (being so unsure of myself and capabilities as a mom, trying to breastfeed and failing, and adjusting to being a mom).  Now that my kids are older and school-age I find that I am mostly physically tired. We are out and about every day playing outside, going to/from activities and sports, I am doing the pickup/drop off for school, getting things prepared for the next day, and all.the.cleanup. I am also aging faster than I care to admit, so my body feels it. I have aches in places I never paid any attention to, and I have paid more attention to stretching and caring for my muscles, because they are asking me to! 

I still need more sleep, for sure.  But I notice that when I stop moving, stop standing, stop running around, just for a few minutes (and if I am lucky for an hour) and I sit down, write an email or a blog entry, watch a show, or even sit down to work on some legal research and writing for work, I feel a renewed sense of energy.  And less tired! I think it’s part of finding the balance and working different “muscles” in the body. A little bit of this and a little bit of that can really make a person feel more balanced.