For the past 2+ week’s I’ve been battling crazy fatigue and brain fog.
And by “battling” I mean it is kicking my ass.
I spend half the day on the couch barely able to think. The thought of going outside feels exhausting. On Tuesday I tried to add 11 + 3 in my head and couldn’t do it. I settled for “somewhere in the ballpark of 13 to 15.”
I’m getting better slowly. But it’s been hard being stuck inside not able to see anyone or get much done.
One thing that helped: I remembered something I learned from one of my many, many life/business coaches, Tom Power.
When I was going through a tough breakup, Tom told me to look back at the relationship and write down all the things I learned from dating this girl.
It helped me shift from a sad and depressed state to feeling more gratitude and optimism.
I’m not saying I was jumping out of bed grinning ear to ear from that day on. I’m just saying it helped enough for me to do again 🙂
So I did the same thing with this illness. I started to think about what lessons I learned. And I got a big one:
I was totally taking my health for granted. I’ve never had major health issues. I’ve never had issues with weight loss or anything like that. My body has always been a pretty good vehicle for me. Like a recently made Ford Focus. Not too flashy, no major issues, does the job.
But this has been a bit of a wakeup call. Like “Hey, get your ass in gear because shit like this can happen any time. And for all you know you could feel this way for months or years”
So I learned I need better contingency plans for if I get knocked out.
I learned I need to get moving on the personal projects I’ve been dragging my feet on the past few months.
And I learned I need to do a better job taking care of my immune system so I can prevent these problems from happening again in the future.
Fun fact: Doctors can’t do anything to help with fatigue like this. It’s either due to a virus or mono (my Covid test was negative) and either way, the solution is “Drink water and wait it out.”
But from case studies I’ve done for clients in the health space as well as professionals I’ve talked to, I’m pretty sure it’s time to cut back on the sugar and processed foods. More organic veggies in my life and a supplement or two could have helped me have a tougher immune system that maybe could have fought this off faster or helped me avoid it altogether.
So when things are tough — like, say, the world is in a fucking pandemic and everyone is at each other’s throats because it’s an election year and you’re barely able to leave the house and see loved ones and it’s taking a toll on your happiness — try taking a moment and see what you learned from the situation.
Works in business, too. If a campaign fails… if an employee quits abruptly… shift your focus on what you learned from the situation.
That seems to be the major job we have on this planet as far as I can tell. Learn and grow.
That and dancing to 80’s music.
