Variable Energy

How well do you know yourself? How well do you know your patterns and habits?

Without a doubt, we humans are all wired differently. Some are very even keel and steady, always moving pretty consistently, with the same amount of energy. Doesn't mean they are lazy or sedentary; for we all know that "even keel and steady" can be perpetually high energy.

Others — and I include myself in that category — are highly variable and even unpredictable as far as energy levels go. I have no idea whether I will wake up tomorrow and have the get-up-and-go of the Energizer bunny, or feel like a slug moving through honey.

That latter option can make it quite challenging to navigate life because "making plans" is a dodgy proposition.

It took me a really long time to truly grasp the deeper implications of wildly fluctuating energy levels. I was a decent distance runner in my 20s, and it was always a mystery how I could swing from running a personal best time in one meet to absolute rubbish in the next... and back again.

In the ensuing years, I learned a lot about body chemistry and neurotransmitters, and finally came to understand — much to my relief — that my issue wasn't about training and motivation, but about body chemistry.

If your body chemistry is dysregulated, it effectively means that your brain might send the wrong message at the wrong time. The place I experience that the most is at times when I really need to concentrate... and instead of getting a bit of an adrenaline boost I end up feeling like I haven't slept in a week and I'm seriously at risk of dozing off!

While that might sound like a joke, I can assure you that it's not.

In general, I know I'm the most vulnerable between 2:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon. And it doesn't matter whether I had a great night's sleep the night before — or not — I'm still likely to zone out. Back when I worked a "regular" job, I always tried to take my lunch break at 2:30 or thereabouts so I could be up and moving around during that most susceptible time.

Simple awareness that it wasn't "all in my head" for all these years has made management a lot easier. I know during what times to be most focused, and when to just *"not bother, because it would go badly. I'm also grateful for the fact that I am self-employed so schedules mean a lot less in my world.

As for the longer term energy variations, those are more difficult to pinpoint. I would normally attribute such variations to natural cycles or bio rhythms, but since my highs and lows don't seem to follow a regular cycle, I don't know for sure.

It certainly helps explain why my blogging efforts are so sporadic!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week ahead!

How about YOU? Do you you have pretty stable energy levels in your life? Or do they fluctuate wildly and unpredictably? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)

Created at 2026.02.17 01:03 PST
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