Why Do I Feel Tired and Drained at Work? Exploring the Intersection of the Christian Walk and Performance in the Workplace

If your health care provider says that you are physically okay, then it could be that you are reacting emotionally and giving up energy because of people pleasing and striving toward goals.

Somewhere in your past, someone tempted you to react emotionally and give up energy. Perhaps it was to please mother or to avoid her wrath. Perhaps it was to prove something to someone or to avoid criticism.

By making something too important, you were forced to use effort. What could and should have come naturally and effortlessly became a willful struggle, leading to tension, fatigue, anger (when it didn't work out), disappointment, and even exhaustion.

But once your ego got involved, trying became the only way you knew to do things. You forgot the graceful way. And when things made you tired and frustrated, you might have just thrown in the towel and quit. Many a failure in life became that way because he or she tried too hard to please others, and just could not bear another round of pain, guilt, and fatigue.

Focusing, trying, studying, and setting goals have to do with making something too important. This process is also frustrating and leads to a sense of futility. Why? Because the goals are not even your own. They are goals someone else gave you. Even wanting to please others is a goal that someone in your distant past gave you.

That is why it is not surprising that we become fascinated and fixated--a sure sign that our attention has been captured. Through our captured attention, various suggestions are funneled, and soon we find ourselves doing the will of the motivator.

Because the motivator wills that we exert effort, and because any egotistical action required effort (whereas realizing and flowing from grace is effortless), we strain, try, and exert effort. This leads to tension, fatigue, and sooner or later frustration. We soon become drained. And when we are tense and drained, it puts a stress on our glands and organs.

Soon our adrenals or other glands become exhausted. No wonder we feel fatigued and tired all the time. And soon physical problems may result from our run down state, such as we become more susceptible to germs.

There is a direct link between being ambitious and willful (which someone else tempted you to be) and your eventual deterioration. That is why you must learn to find mental distance. Learn to stand back, realize, and flow from realization. From the neutral zone, you will begin to be able to see what things capture your attention.  As soon as you find yourself struggling with something or getting excessively involved, mentally step back.
 
Let emotion pass. Get your bearings. Remember what is truly important in life. Don't make anything more important than what you know in your heart is right. ("Put first the Kingdom of God and His Right Way, and all other things will be added unto you.")

You will also see where you are struggling, straining, and applying effort--when graceful ease is all that is needed. You will also see activities that you will find you are no longer interested in doing. Some of them were programmed into you. Others are just no longer needed. But you became locked into them through resentment and struggle.

Some activities will still be necessary (such as work, for example) but you will be able to learn how to work without strain. If the work is not for you, you might change your work. Or perhaps stay where you are while saving money to make a change.

When you are no longer resentfully locked into your work, it will be easier to leave, if necessary, without guilt. If the work is unethical or the work environments is just not right for you,  you will be able to leave and find somewhere else. If the work is okay, then all you need do is change your motivation-learn to flow gracefully instead of straining out of resentment.
 

Taking a mental step backwards and getting out of upset and excessive involvement in the situation is the antidote to fixating and concentrating. When you learn to calm down, slow down, and stop straining; your body will have a chance to rest and recuperate.  Stepping back and getting the big picture helps emotions to calm and resentment to diminish. You can then objectively see what is really going on and act in reason instead of upset.
 
Watch out for resentment. It is perhaps the worst form of willful struggle, where another person upset you into struggling resentfully.
 
Perhaps now you can see that it is responding to temptation that causes us to give up energy. The subtle guilt (which we often misinterpret as "not trying hard enough") for going along to get along, for example, makes us tense. We sense deep in our being that we are not living properly We feel tense and ill at ease. yet we rarely ascribe these symptoms to the proper cause--responding and giving in to temptation. 
 
Work environments tend to be full of temptation--we are pressured or seduced into being ambitious, into doing the expedient instead of the right thing, and we are tempted to live pretentiously.  Our co-workers also tempt us to judge them or to give in to group pressure and gossip with them.
 
This does not mean that we must become reclusive or act holier than thou. It does mean that we must learn how to be in the world and not of the world.  We must learn how to be around people without giving up our life to them or sinning with them. 
 
Perhaps now you can also see why your first line of defense is to not resent others. Watch for and let go of resentment against others, your work, and toward yourself. Remember--resentment is a response to temptation. It will make you tense and nervous; and to relieve the tension you will welcome those activities that help you drain off tension. But in the process you will lose energy.

A simple mindfulness meditation that I have taught for over 20 years has been helpful to many people. It teaches how to de-fixate and how to stand back and see the big picture. It permits you to become re-centered and to begin living your own life, flowing from within instead of reacting to everything.
 
Your first line of defense is to learn to stand back. Take a step back and get the big picture. Step back into the neutral zone where you can look at things objectively instead of emotionally.
 
Find frequent occasions for alone time-where you can sit quietly and center yourself.
 
Take a good spiritual book or the Bible with you so that you can find a moment or two to read even a paragraph or a couple of verses--just to remind yourself of what is truly important in life.
Maintain an attitude of friendly neutrality.
 
Endeavor to be professional in every aspect of or your work, including breaks and lunches. There is no place for gossip, telling naughty jokes or spreading rumors. Being a true professional is very close to being salt and light.
 
Cultivate an attitude of friendly neutrality.
 
"It's like a boxing match. As managers we cannot be participants and involved in the problem. Nor can we be spectators, just watching what is going on. We must be more like referees--not part of the problem and not mere spectators, but concerned guides, monitors and mentors."

Be plain spoken and tell the truth. Lying, covering up, or obfuscating the truth are stresses that have a cumulative effect on your mental health and physical well being.
 
Watch out for resentment. The slightest resentment will cause you to lose altitude and to fall back into your old ways of struggle, giving up energy and excessive worry.

Do not allow your work to drive your life. Practice time management, prioritize, learn to delegate, and don't hesitate to ask for help if work is piling up or is becoming overwhelming.