You know that feeling when you're deep into something and hours disappear?

Two hours playing a game feels like five minutes. But ten minutes in a boring meeting feels like four hours. Time warps. And here's why I'm bringing this up—it's showing you something about when you're performing versus when you're actually present. When you're being someone else, time drags. When you're actually you, it flows. That's the signal your body is giving you about whether you're living authentically or playing a role.

The thing about performing yourself is it drains your life force. Every moment you spend maintaining this facade, this version of yourself that you think people want to see—that's energy stolen from who you actually are. And the exhausting part is the performance requires consistent and constant maintenance. You're always adjusting, always monitoring, always making sure the mask stays in place. No wonder you're tired.

Here's what happens when you stop: You're able to move differently. You respond instead of react. The reaction happens in a millisecond. The response happens in one, two, three, four seconds. There's this capacity to breathe through the energy, to allow it to be felt instead of immediately controlling it or pushing it away. You have a form of presence. And that presence connects you to life force in a way the performance never could.

I've noticed this in my own life. When I'm just moving freely—not trying to be perceived a certain way, not trying to fit some image—the time goes by faster. I laugh more frequently. There's actual joy in the mundane. But when I'm performing, even if everything looks good on the outside, I can feel the drain. My body knows the difference even when my mind is still trying to justify the performance.

If you're exhausted right now, look at where you're performing. Where are you being someone else? Where are you saying yes when you mean no? Where are you adjusting yourself to fit in instead of just being? That's where your energy is going. And that's where the shift needs to happen.

P.S. check out justinegliskis.com

Let's go.

Justin