I'm tired.

This week I have been tired. Why, I've even taken a nap while caring for my five year old grandson.  It's easy; put on a show he likes, have him sit on the couch with me, and I can nap, half asleep, knowing he's beside me. It works. Just don't tell his mother!

Occasionally we all get tired, run down and out of gas. Too few of us take the time to stop. We push on, we keep doing.

Let's face the facts. When we are tired, we are not as sharp, our decisions are not as good, and our creativity falls to zero. We might pretend to work, to continue on, but we are not working effectively. We are not good for our job, to ourselves, or to our families.

If you are tired, stop. Take a rest, take a nap. Just stop. You'll find that a fifteen minute nap will leave you refreshed, with energy, and the ability to continue on.  You'll be far more productive than if you continued to work without the nap.

Many famous people took naps. Thomas Edison was one of them. Often our best ideas come in dreams or as we awake in the morning. We don't have to be sitting at a desk, or in a meeting to be working.

 When I am tired, I look for the reasons why. Here are some reasons:

Stress
Working too hard
Not getting enough sleep
Not resting
Sickness
Immune system run down
Change of seasons
Allergies
Running after and keeping up with kids
Boredom
Change of season

Personally, there is always so much to do, I can't imagine being bored. Yet, some people are bored and, with nothing to do, they feel tired.

Ideally, life is so full and interesting, we get tired as we are doing so much. An active life is a wonderful life. The old saying is true, "if you want something done, ask a busy person to do it."

Sometimes our body slows us down on purpose. Sometimes we need to slow down in order to listen, to feel, and to know the right answers for us. Racing around, we miss so much.

Being tired, we stop. In the stopping, in the resting, we are apt to see and learn that which we never saw or learned as we were racing around.

If tired for more than a few day it's good to go to the doctor to be checked out. No one likes to go to the doctor, but it is a good idea. It can only help.

Pay attention to the sign of being tired. There is a message and an indication you need to slow down. In the slowing down, you will understand the message and be able to better move forward for having slowed down.