Aren’t we all just tired?

I know its not just me, and we actually agree that we are all tired! And yes, I am speaking for you, sonke sidiniwe. If you’re not tired you’re not real…ngyadlala.  Anyway, let me speak for myself. I think I have reached that point in the year where even the smallest inconvenience feels like a personal attack, and yes, I will cry. Its the emails (but apparently Microsoft was down today, yay a win is a win), its the deadlines, the side hustles (please hire me, and if you don’t know what I do, hire me still…I will explain later), the errands, the social commitments and the never-ending to-do lists. Yoh! Khawuphele unyaka.

Lately, I feel like fainting everyday. I swear, every day I think I will faint and the heat is not helping. But what do you mean I am this tired but I still have a lot to do before I can actually call it a year. This time of the year makes me realise just how much of myself I have given to the year. Beginning of the year I was ready to take over the world, (weeeeh lawe Fikile), I started with plans,  fresh energy and hope but for now am over all that. I want the year to end and my only problem to be my friends and I making plans on a $2.00 budget. That’s a better problem, don’t you think?

However, here’s a  funny twist. We are tired by the very things we once prayed for. That’s comforting, at least for me.

That job you desperately wanted? Now comes with deadlines, responsibilities and emails that hope they you find well. The opportunities you hoped would come knocking? Well, they came, and apparently, they brought their own schedules. The growth you prayed for? The consistency you had on your vision board and now anaFikile we are here dropping blog posts every week, regardless that some weeks its really hectic. It all has you stretched in ways you probably didn’t anticipate.

It’s a strange feeling, really. To be grateful for the things happening in your life while simultaneously wishing you could have a few days where absolutely nothing is required of you. Both feelings can exist. We can appreciate how far we’ve come and still admit that we are too darn exhausted.

Personally, I have never been this busy towards the end of the year. Usually, by this time, I’m mentally checking out, thinking about the holidays and looking forward to slowing down. But not this year! And that’s quite good because good things are happening but I am tired too.

Between work, personal projects and other commitments, yahhh, kuningi. I even travelled to present an academic paper at a conference, where I’ll also be moderating sessions. Something I’m genuinely excited about, but which also means more preparation, more planning and more things to squeeze into an already full schedule but most importantly, into a tired body. Anyway, sharing about this in next week’s post. So, stay close bébé.

And before anyone asks, yes, I am grateful. Very grateful, actually. But I am also tired. Both statements can comfortably sit in the same sentence. 😂

Perhaps that’s something we need to give ourselves permission to acknowledge more often. Gratitude doesn’t mean pretending that everything is easy. Being happy about an opportunity doesn’t mean you cannot be overwhelmed by the work that comes with it. And being tired doesn’t mean you are ungrateful.

So, if you’ve been feeling a little unlike yourself lately, if your motivation has packed its bags before you have, or if you’ve been staring at your calendar wondering how many more days are left, I hope you know you are not alone. Its the two of us lol.

Let’s finish what needs finishing, postpone what can wait and, where possible, give ourselves a little breathing room. We don’t have to turn every remaining day of the year into a productivity competition.

December, I am looking forward to seeing you. Please come with kindness and vibes my dear. Me and this reader have had quite enough.

Love & light 🧡