Are you fed up of feeling tired all the time? Tried everything, but still don't have enough energy? Then it might be that a change of attitude is all you need.
Want to discover the one habit you need to let go of, to instantly feel happier, less stressed and more alive? I often dip into my pocket copy of the Tao Te Ching, when I want a bit of inspiration - and this morning's verse was quite apt.
I woke up at 6 a.
m.
, having got to sleep at 1 a.
m.
and having been woken by my 2 year-old at 3 a.
m.
, ready for my first coffee of the day.
Are you exhausted, too? Feeling exhausted had been a common theme for me - not just the "I need a good night's sleep" kind of tired, but really, deep down exhausted.
And over the years, I've realised I've been pretty good at feeling tired.
In fact, I was just 21 when feeling "Tired All The Time" (TATT - don't you love it?!) got me into researching alternative therapies and meditation.
But, whatever I tried - and I had tried the lot - nothing had shifted the general, underlying exhaustion.
It had been a constant companion through every life upheaval I had created over the last few decades!

And I know I'm not alone in this.
I suspect a large number of you reading this are nodding, knowingly.
Or planning to suggest yet more alternatives that I've not yet tried!

The time finally came when I decided that enough was enough.
There are so many things that I'm here to do, feeling exhausted no longer fits with my game plan.
(Though it has been a great excuse for avoiding so much over the years!).
So, dipping into the Tao, at random, this morning, I wasn't at all surprised by the lines I read:

To seek control is to create dis-stress.
To create dis-stress produces exhaustion.

How many of us are running this pattern? By trying to control the world around us, the events that are out of our hands, the people who - outrageously - have their own minds and do as they please, we are using up phenomenal amounts of energy.
We are exhausting ourselves.
And feeling miserable into the bargain.
I invite you to ponder those lines from the Tao today - maybe even meditate on them (another great way of building energy) - and see where they take you.
I suspect that answers - and change - may be on the way.
Here's to feeling bouncily full of vibrant energy!