“Why Am I So Tired” Kill These 6 Energy Vampires NOW

Marie Forleo

Are you feeling extra tired or exhausted lately like you have no energy? In this video, I'm going to walk you through six things to avoid if you want to have way more energy starting right now. 

First thing to avoid is the number one way that we humans stress out ourselves and flood our bodies and our brains with cortisol the moment we open our eyes. Yes, I'm talking about picking up your phone and going straight to your text and your email and your Slack and all the social media. Now let me just say that I made this mistake for years. I used to start my day the way that I think a lot of people do, by looking straight at my phone, but then I realized how much that one little habit was draining my energy and leaving me feeling behind and honestly exhausted. So a few years ago, I decided to swap my morning screen time for a better habit, one that I call create before you consume.

What does that mean? It means that I spend the first chunk of my day creating something important to me, like a healthier body, a stronger mind, a happier heart, and a better business, instead of consuming other people's ideas, or agendas, or expectations. And this gives me so much more energy, not just in the morning but throughout my whole day. 

So, for example, 30 minutes creating my next program or my next marketing campaign is way more energizing than 30 minutes of consuming emails. 15 minutes meditating creates way more energy than 15 minutes responding to DMs. Heck, just 10 minutes in the morning taking in the sun helps me not only create more energy all day but helps me create better sleep at night. In fact, research shows that morning sunlight improves our mood and primes us to fall asleep at night more easily, which naturally leads to more energy.

The second thing that'll drain your energy is making too many decisions, otherwise known as decision fatigue. And yes, this is a real thing. Here's the idea. Every single day, you wake up with a finite supply of decision-making energy. So you want to think about it like your cognitive gas tank, and every time you make a decision, or resist temptation, or exert self-control, you burn energy and drain your tank. 

So, for example, if you hem and haw about what to eat for breakfast, like a bagel or a smoothie or scrambled eggs, or whether or not to have coffee or what to wear or whether you should work out or not work out, and if you should work out, what should you work out and do? I guarantee you, you are making too many insignificant decisions, and it's leaving you feeling totally drained and exhausted to the point where, at the end of the day, if somebody asks you to make one more decision like, "Hey, what should we have for dinner?" You're probably about to bite their head off.

Because I've seen firsthand how decision fatigue will exhaust my brain if I allow that to happen. I now play offense and minimize decisions, especially insignificant ones. So, for example, I rarely think about what to wear anymore. I got to tell you, 90% of the time I'm working from home and I wear the same comfy clothes again and again and again. I don't care. I also make a simple success plan the day before. So this way, I can hit the ground running and focus on my most important projects instead of wasting energy and time trying to figure out what the hell to do first. I actually made a whole other video just about this, and I'm going to put a link to that in the description below. I don't really think about what to eat for breakfast or lunch. I have a few simple choices that I rotate between. They're all delicious, they're all nutrient-dense. They give me the energy that I need, and it's one less thing for me to think about.

I also rarely take meetings in the morning. Want to know why? Because I don't want anyone asking me to make decisions. I'm playing offense, not defense. I do my best to really spend my precious cognitive fuel on the things that really matter to me first. The third thing that drains your energy is inactivity. In other words, you're not exercising enough or maybe even at all. And look, I get it: having multiple jobs, trying to grow a business, taking care of your family. It’s a lot! 

Early in my career, I was a Nike Elite dance athlete and fitness pro, which meant I actually got paid to work out. And unsurprisingly, my energy then was off the charts. But once I moved on from that part of my career, I hit this stretch where I started burning the candle at both ends, and I stopped exercising every day.

And let me tell you, my energy and my mental health took a hit because of it. Now, thankfully, I got back on track with my daily workouts, and it's made such a huge impact. So what I try to do 70% of the time is get in a 30 to 45-minute workout from home. Am I perfect? Absolutely not. But I do it consistently, whether it's strength training or Pilates or HIIT or just a little combo. 

There are so many talented creators right here on YouTube if you're watching this here, that have awesome free workouts and very affordable apps. I also like to go to dance classes and yoga classes here in New York City a few times a week. 

Now, here's another fantastic energy hack that I learned from my friend Jessie, the Glucose Goddess. I do at least 10 minutes of movement after every meal. So most of the time for that hack, I do a nice little walk. But if that's not possible, if the weather's not great or whatever reason, I do like 10 minutes of all kinds of random moves around my house. So I'll do squats, I'll do kicks, I'll do lunges, bicep curls, tricep dips, downward dogs, running in place, dance moves, you name it. 

You want to know why? Because studies show that as little as two minutes, like taking a two-minute walk after a meal will help regulate your glucose levels, support digestion, and help you avoid that post-meal slump. 

The fourth energy drain on our list is a BIG one: ignoring your emotions. Now, this is probably one of the greatest hurdles for creators and entrepreneurs and all of my fellow type-A-ish people out there.

Getting shit done? Yes, please! Feeling our emotions? Meh. Somebody else can do that. But here's the big problem: suppressing or blocking or avoiding our emotions, especially the tough ones, man, that eats up a ton of energy and leaves us feeling listless and tired. Plus, ignoring our emotions doesn't make them go away. It just creates this really unhealthy stress which can cause both mental and physical problems. It can lead to things like heart disease and headaches, insomnia, anxiety, and even depression. 

So one tool that really helps me is using this simple mantra, "You've got to feel it to heal it." Why? Because recognizing our emotions tends to reduce their intensity. So instead of just lying and saying, "I'm fine," when clearly I'm not, I tune into how I'm actually feeling. I do my best to just feel into my body and then say out loud, "I feel frustrated," "I feel angry," "I feel misunderstood," and I've found that by simply acknowledging my emotions in real-time, I start actually feeling better.

Now, it's important to remember that when you're trying to suppress your feelings, your amygdala, the emotional part of your brain, it gets stuck in an irrational thought loop, and you literally feel stuck. But the second that you identify what's bothering you, like, "I'm feeling frustrated right now," your prefrontal cortex goes online. It wakes up. So that's the executive functioning part of your brain that validates your experience, it helps you solve problems, and it helps you to start feeling better fast. 

The fifth thing you want to avoid if you want to have more energy is social isolation. Oh my goodness, this is so important, especially for entrepreneurs, for artists, for those of us who tend to spend a lot of time working alone. 

Why is this? Because social isolation from others is associated with depression, and depression is linked with fatigue. Connecting with other people, even having brief little catch-up calls or conversations with your friends, is a great way to boost your energy naturally. And even if you're not able to see someone in real life, you can have a phone call with them. You can do a little FaceTime date. 

My best friend, Chris and I, we live in different states, and yet we hang out together three to four times a week on FaceTime, and it's amazing. I also like to sometimes go for a little double energy boost where I do walk and talks, meaning I walk around my neighborhood getting even more movement in while having catch-up calls with my team or my colleagues or my friends. Sometimes, my friends and I walk around and do errands together, and I literally find that my creativity flows when I'm moving when I'm talking with people, and I often get some of my best breakthroughs that way.

Now, in a minute, I'm going to share the strategy I use for more energy at the top of every morning. It takes less than two seconds, and I promise you if you experiment with this, it can change your life. But for now, let's talk about the sixth thing draining your energy, which is eating foods that you know aren't the best for you. When it comes to energy, one of the biggest things that impacts how you feel, your mood, your hormones, your focus… Is what you eat. 

Everyone's bodies are totally unique, and while the importance of knowing your nutritional biochemistry is a topic for a whole other video, most of us do understand that certain foods give us that calm, steady energy, and other foods tend to make us feel bloated and sleepy and give us brain fog and make us crash. 

Recently, I was reading my journals from over a decade ago, and I was shocked by what I discovered. So there were multiple pages talking about how terrible I felt after eating a lot of bread and a lot of pasta. What surprised me is I didn't do a damn thing about it. I just kept eating in this same way that clearly wasn't working for my body. In fact, it wasn't until years later that I had this blood test done that proved that I had developed this gluten sensitivity, which totally sucks for an Italian American like me. But you know what? It is what it is. These days, I'm totally clear on what works best for my body, and I enjoy delicious and really great food that also leaves me feeling good, too. 

Now, if you haven't done a food sensitivity test and you're not sure what works best for you, here's a really simple technique to try. Just start tracking how you feel after meals by writing it down. Notice what foods tend to make you feel amazing and energized and which don't. In as little as two weeks, I promise you, you're going to start seeing some patterns that can clue you into what you should really go towards and what you should stay away from. 

And another tip: if you've been intuitively sensing that you're having, let's say, either too much sugar or too much caffeine or too much alcohol or whatever, listen to your body and make those changes now because those internal nudges are your own body's innate wisdom working to help you feel and be your best. 

Now, before we wrap up, there's one energy-boosting bonus tip I want to share. I do this every single morning, it takes less than two seconds, and it sets the tone for the rest of my day.

The moment I open my eyes, I look up, I smile, and I say, "Thank you," and I really mean it. I say thank you out loud for the fact that I woke up and I have another day to experience life. I say thank you for the fact that I have this sweet little dog wanting to be fed and my partner sleeping next to me in my bed. I say thank you for the opportunity once again to experience all of the beauty, and the frustration, and the joy, and all of the things in this wonderful life. All the things that make up being alive. Give it a try, and let me know how it goes! 

And while, of course, there's loads more that we could talk about as it relates to your energy, like sleep and relationships and even technology, avoiding these six energy vampires is going to help you start feeling less tired and more energized right now. I promise.

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Now, of course, if you want to hear more on the topic of energy or anything else, let me know in the comments. Thank you so much for tuning in to MarieTV and the Marie Forleo Podcast, and until next time, stay on your game and keep going for your big dreams, because guess what? The world really does need that very special gift that only you have. I'll see you soon.