Tired or Uninspired?

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I were enjoying some time together at our fire pit. 

Our son pulled up after a hard, but successful day at work.  He always takes time to come over and talk with us when we’re at the fire pit. So, he came over, said “hello,” and then proceeded to tell us how tired and beat he was, and that he had to head in, grab some quick food and drop into bed.  Done.

This guy is highly animated, incredibly conversational, loves to tell stories and make people, especially his mom, laugh.  And he does all that. But not this time. He was clearly wasted (not drunk!).

But then I asked him if he’d quickly show mom the video he took of me completing a very difficult climbing route at the gym. This was one he set as a specific challenge for me, and I finished it earlier that day. He was proud of the set, and he was proud of me. He’s a great coach.

Well, what a transformation! Mitch became a new man. He was now animated, charismatic, expressive, and engaging. He told other climbing stories, stories from work and hung out with us for another 20 or 30 minutes.

What changed? Was he really tired?

Or just uninspired?

Climbing is one of his top passions. He’ll never be uninspired when talking about that.

Nobody really likes being tired unless it’s time to sleep.  My long-time friend and mentor used to tell me, “Mike, when it’s time to sleep, sleep. When it’s time to be awake, be awake. Don’t confuse the two.”

If you’re tired but it’s not time to sleep, shift your focus, take a controlled break, disrupt your mindset, go for a walk, stretch, call your spouse – anything that inspires you.  And that will carry you through.