Worst thing you can do in your twenties is play house. Ride a bunch of dead ends just because it’s comfortable. Apartment, dog, gf you don’t plan on marrying. Low mobility career while optimizing for the weekends. You’re sabotaging yourself and future you will hate you for it. Break the chain. Accept that it’s going to be messy and uncomfortable. Do whatever you need to do to get that momentum back.
Stop. Playing. House.
your brain nerfs what your body is capable of
when you exercise, your muscles send panic signals. heat rises, acidity rises, lactate builds up, glycogen drops. those signals travel up into your brain
so by the time you feel tired, the insular cortex has already turned that noise into a feeling
and your brain goes: is this still worth it or should i quit?
marcora's model explains this: you stop when effort feels bigger than your reason to continue
it's the same when you are working late. you feel tired. you don't want to continue. it seems like whatever you are doing is not worth doing and you should just call it a day
but you can train this. by exposing your brain to similar sources of discomfort. one more rep. one more mile. one more pr. by teaching your brain that some of these signals are survivable
by changing what you think you are capable of you can do way more
fatigue is all in your head
the real reason you’re tired all the time: it’s not your workload. it’s your open loops. the text you haven’t answered. the apology you owe. the decision you’re avoiding. the conversation you keep postponing. these run in the background of your mind all day, draining your battery. close your loops. watch your energy return. mental clutter is more exhausting than physical work ever will be.
whoever said “you MUST BY ALL MEANS develop a strong opinion of yourself so you don't end up internalizing the beliefs others have of you” changed my life.