OnFire Encouragement Letter

#175 On Being Tired

Hi Folks:

Our big news this week is that our Japanese student, Taka, is fitting in well. He has been with us  one week and we enjoy having him around. He is mild-mannered and polite, he eats everything, and joins in our family activities. He is a joy to have around and this is a big relief. We are also learning some Japanese culture. He brought some presents and we bought some Japanese food at a local Asian store.

Blessings for your week.

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To write or not to write. This was the question facing me all day. I’m tired, and I haven’t had the flash of inspiration which usually leads to an OnFire letter. All I need is one good thought and I’m off and tapping away, but this week I’ve been tired, dragging myself around, and it is hard to be creative when the energy just isn’t there.

It is hard to do a lot of things when we’re tired. It is hard to be focussed, hard to think, hard to keep from saying things we shouldn’t, hard to be patient, hard to remain calm.

There are some things that guide me when I get tired and so I’ll share them here in the hope that they might help you.

It will be better tomorrow. I know that every once in a while I have what I call a “low motivation” day. They don’t last. A friend said once, “Never resign on a Monday or in February.” I’m not that low, but it reminds me that bad days come along once in a while. Eventually the sun goes down, we go to bed, and before long it is another day.

Change Perspective. One day last week our computer developed problems, the van needed new brakes, and a bunch of other things happened. The thought occurred to me that at least things will go up from here. It helps when these thoughts come to mind. I believe they are God-given.

Make a to-do list and stick to it. When I am tired I  get distracted easily and procrastination becomes a real temptation. A to-do list is always a good thing to keep anyway, but this week especially I needed it to tell me what I need to keep working on. And then as I begin to cross items off the list, I also discover that I am making progress after all.

Be realistic. I get frustrated more easily when I am tired and so I must remind myself it takes time to make progress.

Keep moving. A slow pace is better than no pace.

Don’t do anything to make it worse. There are times I want to rant, rave, tell someone off, or break something. I have learned in the past that these things often make the situation worse. Any feeling of release is soon replaced with regret. And to top it all off, I look like a fool and have to undo the damage I  do.

Closely related to this is HALT. A person in my Sunday school class reminded me of this acronym. We are more open to temptation when we are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. Giving in to temptation makes the situation worse. Guaranteed.

Get some rest. It sounds obvious, but surprising how often I need to remind myself.

These are some of the things which help me. I hope they help you. Be on fire,

Troy

OnFire is a weekly letter on faith and character by Troy Dennis. To subscribe email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com This letter published Feb 5  09.