When You’re In a Low Energy Season, Treat It As a Holiday

– How to stay whole when the world wants you to hustle, all the time…

We speak a lot about seasons, the aesthetic, the fashion, the vibe, but we don’t talk enough about the seasons of the soul, especially those quiet, heavy days where your body still functions, you might even tackle all the things on your agendas, but your spirit feels absent. You’re not exactly burned out, but everything feels strangely distant. You can’t bring yourself to do the things that once made you feel alive. And that inner voice? It’s quieter than usual, or worse, it’s judging you.

These are the “low tides” of life. And they can feel brutal.

We live in a world that’s obsessed with productivity, where every pause is treated like a problem to solve, and “getting your spark back” becomes just another item on the to-do list. Social media doesn’t help. Everyone else seems to be launching something, building something, living something shinier. So when you’re in that foggy, low-energy state, the pressure to snap out of it can be suffocating.

But here’s the truth: you’re not broken or behind. You’re just tired. And that’s perfectly fine. Maybe what you need right now isn’t a plan, but permission.

Let the valley of “low tides” be a soft place, not a punishment.

I fell into that strange in-between again last week – to be honest, I’m still not totally out of it yet – not sad exactly, but emptied out. This time, I didn’t force myself to “get back on track.” I gave myself what I call a gentle pause. I listened to audiobooks and my favorite playlists. I had long mediation and yoga sessions, I made tea in the ceremonial way. I walked without tracking the steps. I watched meaningless shows, and sometimes I just lied down and slept in the middle of the day.

These small, quiet acts didn’t catapult me into joy, but they did something else: they kept me from draining even further. They cushioned my descent so I didn’t shatter.

The worst thing we can do when we’re low is to fight the feeling. To force goals onto a body that can’t move. To shame a mind that can’t focus.

I’ve done all of that before, for as long as I can remember. And I’ve learned this:

Healing doesn’t respond to pressure. It responds to space. When you’re in a “low tide”, don’t treat it like a failure. Treat it like a sabbatical for the soul. You don’t need to earn rest by being on the edge of collapse. You’re allowed to simply pause, because you’re human, and that’s beautiful.

Let this post be your quiet revolution:

Not everything has to be optimized.

Not every problem needs fixing.

Not every lousy feeling is a sign that something’s wrong.

Real resilience doesn’t come from pushing through. It comes from knowing you can stop at any time, and still trust that you’ll rise again.

I’ve lived through many of these valleys. As a highly sensitive person, I used to collapse hard and judge myself for it. I thought being strong meant staying high-functioning all the time. But over the years, I understand: strength is softness with structure. It’s letting yourself slow down, but not spiral. It’s trusting that just because you’re not okay today doesn’t mean you’re broken forever.

The phrase I hold dear nowadays is simple:

“You always get back up”.

And I do. Sometimes messily. Sometimes slowly. But surely with a clearer head and a stronger soul.

I truly believe that that’s the kind of faith no hustle culture can give us. It’s the kind of faith one can only understand in the quiet, with our backs on the floor, doing nothing, and letting that be enough.

Here are a few tips I live by during my “low tides”:

– If I don’t feel a natural “yes” toward something, I give myself permission to say no.

– I don’t force myself into the “should”. I wait for the “could” to return.

– I treat my energy as sacred, not as a resource to be mined.

– I choose true rest that restores me, not distractions that drain me.

We need more people who can trust their rhythms. Who refuse to measure their worth by how much they produce. Who understand that living well doesn’t mean staying “up” all the time, it means staying real, responsive, and rooted in authenticity.

So if you’re also in a “low tide” right now, this is your permission slip:

You don’t need to push through. You don’t need to perform. You just need to stay close to yourself. And trust that the version of you who rise up again, will be even more honest, more whole, and more powerful than ever before.