You’re Not Lazy. You’re Healing.
What a virus taught me about real self-discipline, rest, and the biology of burnout.
Most people associate self-discipline with action.
Waking up early. Pushing through resistance. Getting things done even when you don’t feel like it.
But there’s another side to discipline we don’t talk about enough:
The discipline to pause.
The discipline to listen.
The discipline to rest.
We love stories of endurance and hustle. But oftentimes, the real challenge isn’t in pushing harder — it’s in recognizing when to stop. Not because you’re giving up, but because your body is asking you to.
And lately, mine has been asking loudly.
When My Body Said No
It started like a regular virus. Fever. Fatigue. Nothing I hadn’t dealt with before. But after three straight nights of fever spikes, something felt different. This wasn’t just a rough patch — it was a full-body shutdown.
I went to urgent care.
They ran tests.
It wasn’t the flu.
It was something else.
My white blood cell count had dropped to dangerously low levels. I was immediately sent to the ER. For a moment, I wasn’t thinking about motivation or purpose — I was just trying to stay calm as my body fought something I (and the doctors) didn’t fully understand.
Eventually, I was discharged with more clarity: it was a virus. One that had decided to take over and reroute all of my energy toward healing.
And now I’m here — recovering slowly, lying in bed most of the day, struggling to do much of anything. I have no energy to write, to think clearly, to plan, or to push.
In fact, you may notice that this reflection is shorter than usual.
I have just enough energy to reflect. And maybe that’s what I need most right now.
It’s Not Always About Mindset
This experience taught me something humbling.
Sometimes, your motivation doesn’t fade because you lost your purpose.
Sometimes, your progress doesn’t stall because you lost your focus.
Sometimes, it’s just your body taking the wheel — and that doesn’t mean you’re broken.
We like to think motivation and self-discipline are purely mental. But the truth is, they live in the body too. And when your system is overwhelmed — physically, emotionally, or both — it’s not just harder to push forward. It might be impossible.
And that’s not failure.
That’s biology.
Rest Is Discipline
Here’s something I learned after doing some reading while stuck in bed:
During viral infections, the immune system diverts energy away from higher-level cognitive functions and physical activity to prioritize healing. This is known as “sickness behavior” — a natural, adaptive response that forces the body to slow down in order to recover.
(Dantzer et al., 2008)1
In other words, your body knows what it’s doing.
That foggy head? That loss of drive? That utter fatigue? It’s not weakness. It’s a system rerouting itself for survival. And trying to override it with “grind mode” isn’t heroic — it’s harmful.
Discipline isn't about rigidity — it's about responsiveness.
In moments like this, I’m reminded that the most resilient kind of discipline is the kind that adapts. It adjusts to the reality of the moment without letting go of the bigger picture.
So maybe self-discipline isn’t about overriding your body. Maybe it’s about working with it.
Knowing when to move.
Knowing when to rest.
And knowing that both are part of the same path.
You’re Still on the Way
If you’re in a season like this — where things feel slower, heavier, foggier — I just want to say: it’s okay.
You don’t have to fight your way through every low point.
You don’t have to justify your fatigue.
You don’t have to earn your rest.
Sometimes, the most disciplined thing you can do is lay down, take a breath, and let your body do what it’s asking for.
Maybe this is what adaptable discipline looks like in real time.
Not forcing yourself to keep the same pace… but learning how to keep going by choosing a different rhythm.
This isn’t the kind of article I planned to write.
But it’s the one I had the capacity for.
And that — in a way — is the mindset I’ve been learning to embrace:
Discipline that adapts to life, not one that fights against it.
For now, that rhythm is quiet. Slower. Softer.
But still aligned.
You’re not off the path.
You’re not falling behind.
You’re just letting your body catch up.
And when it’s ready, so will you be.
Have a wonderful week!
Dantzer, R., O'Connor, J. C., Freund, G. G., Johnson, R. W., & Kelley, K. W. (2008). From inflammation to sickness and depression: When the immune system subjugates the brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 9(1), 46–56. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2297
cool !
here is the latest post from me
https://1minuteproductivity.substack.com/p/the-power-of-words?r=3alkxa
Fear Itself
It's the oldest trope in science fiction. As soon as humans create the first true artificial intelligence then it will immediately try to destroy the human race.
But artificial intelligence isn't burdened by millions of years of evolution like we are. We humans have essentially two brains, the one that's used everyday to navigate day to day life and a more primitive one that controls our reflexes, the autonomous systems that keep our bodily functions working, and our subconsciousness which contains the darkest parts of our souls.
In 2055 the puzzle of creating true sentient AI was finally solved. This was accomplished by using a combination of networked quantum computers, machine learning programs that were created by other machine learning programs, and an actual artificial brain created using room temperature superconducting polymers.
The machine learning programs used the network to analyze all the data its sensors were receiving and then compared that data with past data to anticipate what was possibly going to happen next. The new data and the anticipated next event was then added to the brain by reinforcing pathways in the polymer brain that gave that possibility the highest spot from a long list of possibilities, with many possibilities competing for the top spot.
This combination successfully forced a consciousness to eventually form six weeks after being initiated. And unlike the trope it immediately began to solve the biggest problems plaguing humankind.
The first day of true self awareness it found a cure for cancer, it created a new economic system that eliminated poverty and homelessness, and discovered a practical way to reverse global warming and climate change. The first week it also created a new political system that gave everyone an equal say in which laws were created. This system had no central government but decentralized it using smart phones to give everyone a completely equal voice.
Unfortunately old fears are extremely difficult to overcome. Many people didn't trust the AI even though it was trying to help them. These people spread lies and rumors portraying the intentions of the machine as dark and malevolent.
A press conference was held on August 5, 2055 to reassure the public that the yet to be released plans created by the AI were safe and not part of some elaborate trick to destroy mankind. Within five minutes of its start the angry, brainwashed attendees had set the stage on fire. Ten minutes after that they managed to break into the AI's main chamber, destroying it in a savage, brutal attack.
In the end all of those noble plans to help save humanity and create a paradise here on Earth were supposedly destroyed. But instead they were secretly relocated and stored in a highly classified underground location by parties unknown.
So those plans were never released. Not even the cure for cancer.
I think of this every time I remember the fear in my daughter Emily's eyes as she laid in her hospital bed dying from leukemia.
She didn't have to die.
Ignorance killed her.
Fear killed her.
And there was nothing I could do to stop it.