I wrote about stabilizing your nervous system in one of my commute logs.

The idea is simple: when you are at a low point in life in terms of energy and motivation, the first step is not to push harder, but to stabilize your nervous system.

If you find that you’ve lost trust in yourself, have no motivation, low self-esteem, always lying on the bed, always sleepy even after hours of sleep, no drive to achieve your goals, anxiety, or you’re indulging in unhealthy and sinful activities to cope with stress — then the first step is not to add more load.

Examples of loading your nervous system include reading more self-help books, looking for another motivational video, asking ChatGPT more questions, or even setting new goals. You get what I mean.

Instead, you need to stabilize first by doing three things every day:

  • Walk for 20 minutes in the morning.
  • Create buffer time before you indulge in your bad habits.
  • Do one thing that gives you self-respect — for example, making your bed, reading one page of a religious text, or clearing the trash. Pick one only.

You do these three until they feel normal, boring, and no longer like a “program.”

Usually this takes about two to three months. But it’s not about the time. It’s about the experience. And when I say “daily,” I don’t mean perfect execution with zero slips.

What I mean is these three things become your default return point. When you fall off, you come back without drama. They start to feel supportive instead of effortful.