NEVER ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE IN A LOW STATE OF ENERGY!
YOU MUST MECHANICALLY RAISE IT!
READ THE SIGNS; DON'T MISINTERPRET
As with any body signs that we try to read and often misread, we need to notice them and then classify them as serious (which few are) or just temporary and not significant or long term.
And we need to know that there is no "mysterious force" holding oneself into a low state of energy or a low mood.
Yes, we are wise to address what the cause was (a strictly physical thing or a thought thing) and to cure it for the long term if it is important. But, if there is nothing in particular to address, which is most of the time, we need to move on (and perhaps just note in your journal or master notebook what was going on, probably to be addressed later).
Even if it is something you need to consider and think about, you'll do better thinking after you've solved the energy problem.
TWO WAYS
There are two ways to solve the problem:
1. Regenerate the source of energy. This means that you need to decide if you need to rest and/or eat, though you'll always hydrate during any break.
But you'll have to make a judgment:
Am I basically ok and just need to raise my energy right now? (Judge if you are in a suitable range of Homeostasis (High Functioning Balance) and that you are not going to drive yourself into the damaging dysfunctional range. Dysfunctionality is seldom the case once we have gotten moving, breathing, and hydrating - which will put us back further into the high functioning zone.
If the answer is yes, you're ok and you just need to reenerize, then...
2. Generate energy from your existing store of energy. Basically, we have the energy in our body to run 26 marathons. We just need to access it - which is simple and straightforward.
At a later time in the day, I find that I need to have a brief regeneration, which I do by taking a true nap (20 minutes or less).
But what I do if I have not yet truly worn myself out for the day, is take a break, which I build into every 90 minute segment, to get Instant Energy From Something Good. I always do this, without exception - as operating in a lower state is a huge waste of my time plus, in such a state, I don't feel as good as I can. Feeling good plus having energy makes things much easier to do - and it increases my willpower and "won'tpower". Plus I seek, because I feel good, fewer comfort strategies and I don't need to distract myself to "numb" any anxieties, since a body that feels good prevents the feelings of anxiety (!). (It's all mechanical.)
BENEFITS OF STOPPING LOW ENERGY STATES
Higher energy
You feel better emotionally.
Your body functions better, in a more balanced way
Your brain functions better, so you are more intelligent and more effective
Productivity goes way up and you get much more gets done, which
Increases confidence/self-esteem and
Generates a feeling of well-being, plus
You're benefitted by what gets done
You get more perspective in life (by stopping what you're doing)
And the final benefit is that you don't spend that crummy and/or lethargic time wallowing in a state of low energy - which is also a way of wasting life and being partially dead.
Probably obvious to you is that putting yourself into a higher energy state will cause an upward spiral, which you can continue if you periodically intervene to add more energy to the spiral. (The latter is one of the laws of physics applied to "life physics".)
THE DOWNWARD CYCLE OF LOW ENERGY (OR MOOD)
If you sit for awhile, your body will decline in functionality and energy, plus accumulate toxins. When anything is "out of whack" (not in high functioning balance), your mind tries to solve it by coughing up all associated patterns to provide what to do. And when the mind does this, some of those patterns are activated - and they mostly generate negative chemicals so we don't feel very good or we feel bad. In turn, those chemicals can help drive the body more in the wrong direction, as we are trying to get some good chemicals and feelings into gear - plus more energy flow. (See Managing The Chemicals In The Body - Balancing Them And Using Them For Functioning Better - which is very achievable through strictly mechanical physical means that are very doable.)
While thinking positively can be of some help along with rethinking erroneous beliefs, the mechanical tools are most often the most useful, in terms of both the degree of the effect AND the reliability (which is very, very high!). (See the non-drug approach and contents in Dr. Neil Nedley's Depression Recovery Program - Comments And Evaluation - proven.)
Allowing yourself to stay in a low energy state helps sustain the downward cycle, that spirals and spirals and reinforces itself. And it is a waste of your life.
Even watching TV, beyond a 1/2 hour, causes a mild state of depression and lower body energy, so one needs some "stimulus" to rescue oneself from this - resulting in using subtances (food, junk snacks, booze, etc.), which then cause further problems and often a huge swing in sugar balance, which in turn causes instability and malfunctioning in the moment and later, often depressing one further in about 30 minutes - which then causes one to try to feel better by having the next (temporary) sugar boost... and so on...
Although this is a spiraling effect, I'll just lay out the chain of causes and effects, which continues onward to restart the chain over and over - unless you interfere with it and stop it and reverse it! (The earlier you intervene in a chain the more effective it is. See
Low energy → concern → brain tries to solve → mood ↓ → concern ↑ → repeat →
→ body functioning ↓ → feel worse or numb →
Except in extreme cases, the cure lies in the two strategies above, but most of the time you'll use Instant Energy From Something Good - and you'll again feel good, and stronger, and more confident - and you'll definitely be more able to get what you want in life. (Oh, and your brain functions much better also!)
MAKE THIS A LIFETIME RULE - FOR A MUCH BETTER LIFE!
This is a practice to do for your entire life - if you truly want to have a much better life, for relatively low effort - and the practice of it will save you lots of time, net after subtracting the breaks. (You should also couple with this The Pause, as a lifetime practice.)
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