Do you ever find yourself thinking about how tired you are?
I do.
In fact, I think about it a lot. Maybe too much. In fact, I realized something the other day, and maybe you’ve realized it yourself: The more you think about being tired, the more tired you become.
In fact, I wholeheartedly believe that tiredness begets tiredness. (And I use the word “begets” because I just don’t get to use it often enough, plus it sounds like “baguettes” and I’m hungry.) And from where I stand, or sit, or lie down, or whatever, it’s an actual fact. I call it tiredosity, which is just a fancy schmancy word for, well…what I’ve already said.
Tired is as tired does, as they say. Or, tired is as tired thinks, as I say. In fact, I think I just made that up, right here, right now. But the important part is…
Try this experiment: 1. Find a friend (or an enemy, but a friend is less likely to poke you). 2. Start a conversation, and while you are talking, work in words about how tired you are. Pretend you’re yawning, rub your eyes like you’re tired, say words and statements like “sleepy” or “super-duper-tired” or “boy am I ever tired” or “it must be way past my bedtime.” 3. Keep doing that for seven or eight hours. 4. Observe what happens.
You’ll probably start seeing the other person blink and yawn after a few minutes, and maybe after an hour or seven they’ll fall asleep. I told you. Happens every time.
In fact, you can try it on yourself—if you run out of friends who are awake. Think sleepy thoughts about floating on a cloud or resting your head on a (nice) bear’s furry tummy or lying in the sun under the partial shadow of a giant stinkberry bush—whatever works for you. Imagine the cottony cloud you are gently floating on is so exquisitely puffy and cozy and comfy and all your inconsequential troubles just gently and quietly and sleepily start to…
Zzzzzzzzzz……..
