STOP ANTICIPATING TIREDNESS
Recently, I was on a flight from San Francisco to Chicago when I overheard one of the silliest conversations imaginable. It demonstrates a critical yet common mistake that many people seem to make on an ongoing basis. The conversation, ____(I)____, centered around how tired each of these two people were going to be – tomorrow and all week!
It was as if each person was trying to convince the other, and perhaps themselves, how many hours and how hard they were working, how few hours of sleep they were going to get, and, most of all, how tired they were going to be. I wasn’t quite sure if they were bragging or complaining, but one thing was certain, they were appearing more and more tired the longer the conversation continued.
They each said things like, “Boy, am I going to be tired tomorrow,” “I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the rest of the week,” and “I’m only going to get three hours of sleep tonight.” They told stories of late nights, lack of sleep, uncomfortable hotel beds, and early morning meetings. They anticipated feeling exhausted, and I’m sure they were going to be correct in their assumption. Their voices were heavy, as if the lack of sleep they were going to get was already affecting them. I actually felt myself getting tired just listening to part of the conversation!
The problem with anticipating tiredness in this way, or in any way, is that it clearly reinforces tiredness. It rivets your attention to the number of hours you are sleeping and how tired you are going to be. Then, when you wake up, you’re likely to do it again by reminding yourself how few hours it has been since your head hit the pillow. Who knows what really happens, but seems it to me that anticipating tiredness must send a message to your brain reminding you to feel and act tired because that is the way you have programmed yourself to respond.
Don’t sweat the small stuff
By Richard Carlson
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