“I Want to Be Happy, but I’m So Tired”

Dear Infinity,

Everyone around me seems to be thriving — starting new businesses, traveling, glowing up — and here I am, exhausted, behind on everything, and questioning my life choices over cold coffee.

I want to be happy. I want to be excited about life. But lately, I feel stuck in survival mode.

What do I do when joy feels far away?

— Running on Empty

Dear Running,

You don’t have to be glowing to be growing.

Sometimes happiness isn’t loud — it’s soft. It’s showing up. Brushing your hair. Getting out of bed. Smiling at your kid when you’re running on fumes. That is joy in its most sacred, resilient form.

Comparison will rob you blind if you let it. You don’t need to be thriving like them — you just need to keep going like you.

Joy will come. Sometimes quietly, like a whisper. Sometimes bold, like a sunrise. But it will come.

You’re not behind — you’re in progress.

Keep breathing,

Infinity

Chime In:

How do you find sparks of joy when you’re running on low?