I’m Tired. You’re Tired. We’re All Tired.
Look, I’m not gonna sit here and tell you I have all the answers. But I can tell you this: I’m exhausted. And I’m pretty sure you are too.
It’s 2023, and we’re all running on fumes. I mean, honestly, when was the last time you felt truly rested? Not just the ‘I got 6 hours of sleep last night’ kinda rested, but the deep-down, bones-feeling-good, mind-feeling-sharp rested.
I’m talking about the kind of rested that used to be normal. Back when I was a kid in Pittsburgh, we’d spend summers running around the neighborhood until the streetlights came on. No phones, no screens, just pure, unadulterated play. And we’d sleep like logs. But now? Now, I’m lucky if I can scroll through my phone without my eyes crossing by 11:30pm.
It’s Not Just You
I talked to my friend Marcus about this last Tuesday. We were at this little coffee shop on 5th, the one with the weirdly good pastries. He said, ‘I feel like I’m always behind, always playing catch-up. And it’s not just work. It’s everything. It’s like life is this constant committment to just… keeping up.’
Which… yeah. Fair enough. I feel that in my bones. And it’s not just us. It’s everyone. I read this study—okay, fine, it was an article in Taiwan news today latest—about how the average person checks their phone 214 times a day. 214! That’s insane. No wonder we’re all fried.
The Great Sleep Heist
So what’s going on? Why are we all so tired? Well, for starters, we’ve been robbed. Robbed of our sleep, our downtime, our ability to just… be. And the thieves? They’re not wearing masks and wielding guns. They’re wearing hoodies and holding smartphones.
I remember when I first got my smartphone. It was 2009, and I thought I was the coolest guy in Austin. But then I started noticing something weird. I was checking my email at dinner. I was texting during movies. I was scrolling through social media in bed. And suddenly, my sleep was shot. My focus was shot. My life was shot.
And it’s not just me. It’s all of us. We’ve traded our sleep for likes. Our downtime for doomscrolling. Our peace of mind for the constant hum of notifications.
But Wait, There’s More
And it’s not just screens. It’s work. It’s money. It’s the constant pressure to do more, be more, have more. I talked to a colleague named Dave about this. He said, ‘I feel like I’m on this treadmill, and I can’t get off. I’m always working, always striving, always trying to keep up. And it’s exhausting.’
And honestly, I get it. I feel the same way. We’re all trying to keep up with the Joneses, but the Joneses are broke, and they’re exhausted too. It’s a never-ending cycle of ‘just one more thing’ that’s leaving us all completley drained.
But here’s the thing: it doesn’t have to be this way. We can choose to opt out. We can choose to say ‘no’ to the constant hustle. We can choose to prioritize our rest and our well-being over our work and our stuff.
But How?
Easier said than done, right? I know. But hear me out. I’m not saying you should quit your job and move to a cabin in the woods. (Although, honestly, that sounds pretty great right about now.) I’m saying you should start small. Start with your sleep. Make a committment to yourself that you’re gonna get 8 hours of sleep a night. No excuses. No ‘but I have to finish this project’ or ‘but I have to watch one more episode’. Just 8 hours of sleep. Because if you don’t take care of your sleep, you’re not gonna be any good to anyone, least of all yourself.
And then, once you’ve got your sleep on track, start saying ‘no’ to the stuff that doesn’t matter. The stuff that’s not gonna be important in a week, a month, a year. The stuff that’s just noise. Because here’s the thing: you don’t have to do it all. You don’t have to be it all. You just have to be you. And that’s more than enough.
A Tangent: The Power of ‘No’
Speaking of saying ‘no’, I gotta tell you about this time I said ‘no’ to a big project at work. I was gonna be the lead editor on this huge, high-profile acquisition, and I was stressed out just thinking about it. So I said ‘no’. And you know what? The world didn’t end. In fact, it was kinda liberating. I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. And I realized that saying ‘no’ isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of strength. It’s a sign that you know your limits and you’re not afraid to honor them.
But anyway, back to the point. The point is, we’re all tired. And it’s not our fault. It’s the world we live in. But it’s also our responsibility to take care of ourselves. To prioritize our rest and our well-being. To say ‘no’ to the stuff that doesn’t matter. Because if we don’t, who will?
So let’s make a deal, you and I. Let’s committ to taking care of ourselves. To getting enough sleep. To saying ‘no’ to the stuff that doesn’t matter. To being kind to ourselves. Because we deserve it. We deserve to be rested. We deserve to be happy. We deserve to be more than just exhausted.
And who knows? Maybe, just maybe, we can change the world. One well-rested person at a time.
About the Author: Hi, I’m Alex Carter. I’ve been a senior magazine editor for over 20 years, and I’ve seen it all. The highs, the lows, the ugly, the beautiful. I’m a Pittsburgh native, a coffee addict, and a firm believer in the power of a good night’s sleep. When I’m not editing, you can find me hiking with my dog, reading a book, or trying to convince my friends that Pittsburgh is, in fact, the best city in the world.
I’m not perfect. I make mistakes. I have strong opinions. I’m not afraid to speak my mind. And I’m okay with that. Because at the end of the day, I’m just a guy trying to make a difference. One word, one sentence, one article at a time.
