10 Small Habits That Instantly Recharge You When Your Gas Tank Is On Empty
Running on fumes? These quick habits can refuel your energy fast.
Omid Armin | Unsplash There are a lot of things that still scare me. There are many things I have avoided because I didn’t want to look stupid in front of other people, and still do. There are relationships I blocked, and experiences I denied because of my fear.
As I’ve taken on more regrets and learned more about how life works and what I need to do to refuel my inner gas tank, I have accumulated a handful of tools, philosophies, and methods that help me do my best. They give me an edge that allows me to take on challenges I may have otherwise avoided.
Research also supports the importance of incorporating specific habits that promote rest, recovery, and emotional regulation to enhance overall well-being and performance. I have incorporated most into my regular life as the norm, but many help reduce nerves, gain energy, and feel better for one-off occasions, too. Maybe these don’t apply to you, but maybe, just maybe, your whole life will change, and you won’t believe how you lived before knowing these tricks.
Here are ten small habits that instantly make you more recharged when your gas tank is on empty:
1. Reduce carbs and sugar
Sugar spikes are often followed by a zombie-like state. Avoid the sugary stuff, and your energy will soar. We can argue all day on the science of all this, but reducing bread of all kinds, grains, wheat, and refined sugar always makes me feel better. I have more energy, less to zero brain fog, and anxiety is much less.
2. Take it easy on the fake dopamine
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There are lots of sources of dopamine hits, especially strong ones like video games, smoking, doom-scrolling, or sugary food. When your dopamine receptors get repeatedly used, this can start to wear them out.
You become desensitized to normal things so that life seems flat and dull. This high-stimulus stuff leads to a crash, which can make you more nervous, jittery, and distracted.
3. Take deep breaths
Pulling in large draws of oxygen into the lungs and belly brings oxygen to the blood and brain, calms you down, makes you more present, makes you think faster, and makes you feel better.
4 Break down stuck feelings
Sit in silence and get in touch with your feelings. Watch any negative emotions that come up and pay attention to them. Attention causes them to float away, and you will feel better, unstuck, and energized.
You can repeat this exercise on many of the blocks that come up around certain areas of your life by asking specific questions that bring these feelings up and working on melting away those sensations.
5. Exercise
Burn off that excess, nervous energy in the gym, on the bike machine, or in the pool. Especially useful is exercise that involves plenty of sweating and deep breathing.
The sweating releases toxins, adding to a greater sense of well-being. Making your body stronger makes your mind stronger.
This always makes me feel great and boosts my creativity, which is why I always go to the gym before sitting down to do my most productive work, or if I need to do something that would usually make me nervous, like doing a podcast interview.
Exercise acts as a healthy coping mechanism, helping individuals manage stress and reduce anxiety by providing a distraction from worries and promoting relaxation. While it may seem counterintuitive, a 2024 study revealed that expending energy through exercise can combat fatigue and increase energy levels throughout the day.
6. Take a quick nap or rest
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A quick nap or a lie down can help you feel refreshed and ready for an upcoming challenge. The critical thing here is not to allow yourself to feel guilty for resting, as long as it’s not excessive. Rest is a necessity for continued mental aliveness, calm, physical regeneration, and creativity.
7. Move your body
Getting into your body doesn’t stop with meditation or exercise. Shake out tension, try trauma-release exercises, dance, and stretch. Go wild.
If you have something scary coming up, kick, shout, and dance for a while, and see how your state changes. Remember that a lot of our mental states are defined by our physical states. So getting into an active, playful frame of mind will improve your mood.
Brisk walking is strongly supported by research as a way to recharge and enhance mental and emotional well-being. According to a 2017 study, brisk activity stimulates the production of endorphins, the brain's natural feel-good chemicals, which can reduce stress and anxiety and improve mood.
8. Commit to honesty
Here’s where it gets more into philosophy and mindset. One of the game-changers for me in terms of feeling more alive and at ease was, to be honest, and open in everything I did.
An honest approach means not hiding anything. A lot of our anxiety comes from hiding things about ourselves through shame. That needs to change. Be willing to be open and courageous in telling the truth when the opportunity arises.
Don’t go out of your way to tell everyone that they’re fat or ugly, but be honest in your approach to life. Be in alignment with your word. Forgive yourself and others. Do what you say you will do. Be honest about what you want with people. Have the courage to say no when something is not good for you.
Honesty springs directly from self-love. A lot of people are not honest because they don’t fully respect themselves. They have to hide parts of themselves. Those who love themselves, appreciate their flaws, and those of others around them, and their relaxed nature reflects this. This approach has helped me feel more at ease in my skin.
9. Turn your focus toward making others feel better
Most of us are preoccupied with what others think of us. Here’s the deal: people will always judge, and they will always have their own opinions of everything and everyone.
Mostly, people aren’t judging you nearly as much as you think, and who cares anyway? It’s never about feeling pressured to change yourself.
What you need to do if you’re self-conscious is turn your focus away from 'What’s wrong with me?’ To: ‘How can I make others feel better?’ It’s all about changing where you put your focus, and this one will not only put you at ease, but it will bring you tremendous success in life.
10. Don’t take things so personally
Taking the words of others seriously is one more nail in your coffin. Don’t do it. Other people don’t know you. They have opinions, and nothing more.
Getting into this mindset, like the others, takes practice, but your life will change when you incorporate this one alone. Not taking anything personally doesn’t only apply to the negative judgments of others — it applies equally to the positive validation others give you.
When you take things personally, you can get caught in a cycle of negative emotions like hurt, anger, or anxiety, which drains your energy. A 2023 study argued that learning to detach emotionally from situations allows you to regulate your feelings more effectively and prevent emotional exhaustion.
Praise and hate should be regarded the same. Don’t take them personally. Because when we base our well-being on the validation and kind words of others, we’re still at the mercy of other people, rather than leading our own lives.
Be gracious for praise, but don’t become obsessed with it. The naysayer or troll can only see themselves in their judgment of you. What would you be like if you took absolutely nothing personally? Unstoppable.
Aly Walansky is a NY-based lifestyle writer who focuses on health, wellness, and relationships. Her work appears in dozens of digital and print publications regularly.
