Have you heard of decision fatigue? (Yes, it’s a thing.) And, no wonder it’s a thing, considering we make an estimated 35,000 decisions per day![1] Have you considered your view on solutions for this challenging problem?
Thankfully, there are a number of solutions to the problem of mental fatigue and decision fatigue. Today, we’ll focus on one that’s not only lovely, it’s oh-so-simple.
Decision Fatigue and Fibromyalgia
Whether you have fibromyalgia or not, it’s likely that you’re already tired. Fatigue from health challenges, stressful circumstances, relationship concerns, nourishment insufficiencies, and poor sleep can impact us all.
But the symptoms of fibromyalgia compound the above challenges and more.
This draws the picture of a very fatigued, tired, and depleted person. Feeling dragged down by low energy, for anyone with compromised health, is a commonplace occurrence.
Because fatigue is already present, and already a tendency, anything we do to deplete it further definitely takes us in the wrong direction.
What can we do to replenish and make an energy U-Turn?
Let’s replace one picture with another.
Refuel your #Fibro #Energy with your view. Click To TweetYour View on Refueling Energy
It’s an interesting statistic, but “our brain consumes more than 20% of our energy intake per day.”[2] Wow! No wonder making one decision after another is tiring.
Becoming more and more exhausted as the day wears on is one reason why we’re challenged with evening snacking. We’ve got better resources of energy (to make healthier decisions) in the morning than we do later in the day.
So, what can be done about it?
I’m glad you’ve asked. There are plenty of studies demonstrating that WHAT we look at, or what we view, can either be depleting or restorative. Looking out your office window at a cement wall is different from looking at a garden, for example. If given the option, we’d likely choose the view that’s a bit more restorative, right?
Thank goodness one option to counteract the energy depletion of decision fatigue is quite simple.
What do you look at or view most throughout your day? I’m very fortunate to have a large 8’ x 10’ window in my home office that offers up a lovely panoramic view.
My kitchen view isn’t bad either. 😉
Nature’s Refueling Respite
It turns out that viewing a snapshot (whether through your own window or looking at a picture) of nature is profoundly restorative. Visual contact with nature is a missing key element when it comes to energy restoration.
Because our attention is in demand all day long (focused attention, distractions, etc.), it uses up our energy resources. The effort we expend to direct our attention not only needs a break; it needs refueling.
The answer is to take a look at nature from whatever resources are available to you. The brain receives a boost of restored energy from views of living greenery, flowers, natural bodies of flowing water, blue skies, sunrises, sunsets, and more.
Of course, it’s even better when we can physically make connections with nature (especially grounding – bare feet to the earth). But the focus for today is looking at pictures of nature. Grab your family vacation photo albums and remind yourself of the views. Flip through a nature magazine or book. Gaze at nature photo websites. You get the pic (ha)!
Even better? Kick it up a notch and take advantage of the natural and positive scenes available in the brain-boosting powerhouse program, PositivePrime.com. Go directly to their site to review the science behind the restorative nature of viewing positive scenes. You can sign up for a free account and get started on building up your energy and positivity resources right now.
If you’d like to know more about Positive Prime (which I’ve recommended and written about in my blog and in my books), check out this article.
What’s your favorite view of nature? What will you intentionally view today?
[1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/stretching-theory/201809/how-many-decisions-do-we-make-each-day
[2] https://www.sageglass.com/en/visionary-insights/natural-views-increase-cognitive-performance
