Tiredness

I get two types of tiredness, one from having too much to do and another from having basically nothing to do. The too-much-to-do kind of tiredness may be physical or psychological but I can recover from it in due time because busy periods or busy minds will never stay forever. Once the overload of work or thoughts have been cleared, my body or mind has rested sufficiently, I will be recharged and become normal again. Tired I may seem but I actually enjoy it. Hehe…I am a workaholic after all.

But when this workaholic gets hit by the nothing-to-do kind of tiredness or boredom, it can be quite frightening. It creeps up on me quietly, and before I know it, overwhelms me and I become so disoriented, transforming me into an unrecognisable zombie. I basically lose my focus in life when I get bored. When I’m not mindful and indulge in this kind of tiredness, I get sucked deeper and deeper into the black hole. This form of tiredness did hit me recently and I hate it.

Whether it’s tiredness from having too much to do or nothing to do, we can all conquer it. Why? Because our mind is stronger than what we believe it to be. Ajahn Brahm advises that we should learn to put 100% energy into the moment, then we will have 100% energy for the next moment. If we allow ourselves to become negative, we will never have that 100% energy in whatever we do. It’s the negativity that makes us tired.

By being unhappy and grumpy about how much more work we have to do, we are just psychologically making ourselves tired even before we start working on it. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. If I keep telling myself that I am tired, I hate what I have to do, I can’t cope with what I have to do, I really end up being tired, can’t cope and give up easily. But if I tell myself that I should just focus on the task, do what I can, give it my best shot, I end up completing the task and much faster. Yes, I may still be physically tired at the end of it but I know I will get the satisfaction that I did it, I completed the task!

Ajahn Brahm says there’s an incredible boost of energy hidden in every one of us. We’ll get this incredible boost of energy if we do everything selflessly without expecting anything in return. How true. We often feel tired when we expect something in return for our efforts. But if we get to the heart of the human condition, do everything wholeheartedly and with vitamin C, C for compassion, we are more likely to inject that extra boost of energy to accomplish the task. I think that kind of energy, I do have, the energy of happiness, of serving, of giving life meaning. It’s the energy for myself, my life that I really need to relook and uncover.

Indulgence in boredom or tiredness from having nothing to do can really inflict great damage to me and my direction in life. When I don’t know how to sit still and rest when I’m given the opportunity, I become disoriented. I must conscientiously remind myself to be more alert and sound the alarm when it creeps up on me. I can’t allow my thoughts, my mind, my life to be eaten up by boredom.

WAKE UP NOW…THIS MOMENT! Ok, ok, I can hear me…there’s no need to shout.