I’m very familiar with the feeling of trying harder and somehow getting more tired.
When things start slipping — energy, focus, patience — my reflex is almost automatic: apply more effort. Tighten up. Push through. Be more disciplined.
Sometimes that works for a day or two. Then it collapses.
What I’m slowly learning is that the problem usually isn’t willpower. It’s the environment I’m operating in.
I see this clearly in the outdoors. You don’t brute-force a fire into existence. You notice the conditions. You choose better tinder. You block the wind. You change your posture to the problem.
Oddly, I’ve been much slower to apply the same thinking to myself.
When I sleep poorly, let noise creep into my mornings, or stack too many decisions back-to-back, everything feels heavier. When I protect a bit of quiet, build gentle structure, and reduce friction, the behaviours I thought required discipline start happening on their own.
I’m trying to catch this earlier now — before I turn difficulty into a personal failure.
Less self-pressure.
More shaping of the conditions.
Willpower still has its place. I’m just less convinced it should be doing all the work.