Calm your inner critic

Have you ever had one of those days when you feel like you’ve done practically nothing, but feel absolutely exhausted at the end of it, nevertheless? Or wondered why you feel so tired after just scrolling through your social media for a while at the end of the night?

The issue here is that mental output can be just as draining as physical output – and we use more mental energy than we realise.

‘If you’re feeling drained, it’s really important to realise how much time you’re spending in your head,’ explains Gillian McMichael. ‘Not being present is the biggest drain on energy. We spend most of our time thinking about the past, or thinking (and worrying) about the future. Our head is full, analysing, replaying conversations, thinking about what we should have done, what we would do differently next time, or planning for the future. We’re very rarely in the moment. And so when we’re not in the moment, all we’re really doing is draining our energy needlessly.

‘We have around 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts a day. We’re constantly filled with thoughts, and as one thought is leaving us, another one is immediately coming in. And that’s where we get distracted – we get carried away with the thought and it takes us out of the present moment. It takes us out of being mindful about what we’re doing, and into some other worry. And every one costs you in terms of your energy.’

This constant analysing of the past and worrying about the future that so many of us engage in so frequently can also spiral into all-out negative thinking and being hyper-critical of ourselves – and our emotions.