The War on Fatigue: Part 2, The Solution

Pushups. Loud music. Yoga. Cold Shower. Running.

Fatigue is a problem that plagues us all. It gets in the way of us exercising, completing homework, applying for law school, starting a business, traveling the world, starting a music career, investing capital, going to the beach (to relax), and finishing the many projects we started long ago but can never seem to find the time to complete now. No wonder there's a $10 billion dollar industry revolving around The War on Fatigue. And that' no red bullshit.

Everyone wishes they had more energy. More energy = more time. More time = doing more things. Doing more things = living life more. And who doesn't want that? It's like my friend Josef once said to me about our intramural basketball team: "[We need to] pass more, shoot more, score more, win more." "More" of everything tends to be favored in life. The more the better.

I'm somewhat of a purist when it comes to substances entering my body. Generally, I try to stay as far away as I can from products overwhelmed with caffein, ginseng, and sugar. Diabetes is rampant in my family and I don't intend on encouraging Type 1 or 2 to become a part of my daily routine anytime soon. Whenever I need more energy in my day all I need to do is one simple activity: dancing. It'll snap you right out of whatever funk, slump, or chump mood you're in. Just get up, put some music on, and dance like your on the stage of Soul Train! Do this for about five minutes (if you're physically able to). By about the third minute you'll be telling yourself, "Man, I wish I was doing something sedentary like writing a paper or drawing a cartoon." When the fifth minute comes you'll be gasping for air; five minutes of straight dancing can do this to you. Benefits from dancing include:

• Trying out all your latest dance moves
• Getting to know one of your favorite songs better
• Working up a sweat
• Feeling rejuvenated

The first three benefits are more like convenient side effects. The real benefit you should be after though is the last one: "Feeling rejuvenated." It seems counterintuitive, but using up energy to dance will actually create more energy in your body and will zap your brain into becoming more alert. Think of all those beats you just hit! Your mind was really working at full capacity, that is, assuming you were trying to dance on beat.

You can use this fresh burst of energy towards whatever you like. Just don't get sucked into thinking that you're tired again. Then you're going to have to get up and dance to The Backstreet Boys all over again.

Problem solved. Don't buy energy. Create your own.

~Anthans