The Day I Decided Not to Be Tired Anymore

Written By Coach Vida

It started with a 7-Eleven coffee. Hazelnut, of course. I get hazelnut everywhere I see it. You can smell it before you taste it, that warm sweetness that promises alertness but never quite delivers. It was a regular 4 p.m. thing, one of those afternoons that stretches too long. I walked in holding that coffee, and a few people looked at it…not with curiosity, but with longing. We were all tired. Everyone in that room was running on caffeine and fumes.

For a second, I saw it from the outside: the cycle, the pride in how much we can handle, how much coffee we “need.”… How much someone can drink before noon. And something in me just said, no more. I don’t want to live half-awake. I love my work, every version of it. I believe any job done with care is honorable. Work teaches humility, dignity, and confidence all at once. But I can’t make my whole life just this. I want to live. I want to see. I want to witness.

That day, I started changing small things, what and when I eat, what and when I drink. I built my own rule: only two caffeine moments in a day. My morning cup of coffee, which I savor like a ritual (especially when the weather fits the mood), and my favorite energy drink around 2 p.m., sometimes half, sometimes mixed with sparkling water so it lasts longer. Because the goal isn’t more energy. The goal is enough life.

Now, when I drink my one cup of coffee, it isn’t about pushing through, it’s about tuning in. That small warmth in my hands reminds me that I have limits, and that’s a good thing. Limits create rhythm, and rhythm creates life. I still work hard; I still show up early. But I don’t chase the feeling of being unstoppable anymore. I’d rather be steady.

Because what I really want isn’t to prove I can run on empty, it’s to stay awake enough to notice the light on the way home, to have the energy to walk, to write, to laugh with people I love. I want to live long enough, and clear enough, to witness everything I’m working so hard to build. That’s what I was really after all along…not the jolt, but the joy.

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Coach Vida

Coach Vida is the voice behind FormaFit Active a movement journal rooted in mindful motion, real gear, cultural pride, and showing up without apology.
She believes in slow mornings, walking when it hurts, and building strength that feels like freedom.

Her motto: You don’t have to look like an athlete to move like one.

She writes from Los Angeles, with a speaker clipped on and sunscreen always in the bag. This journal is for anyone reclaiming energy, stretch by stretch.

Coach Vida es la voz detrás de FormaFit Active, un diario de movimiento con raíces en el cuerpo, la cultura y la intención.
Cree en moverse con calma, en estirarse cuando duele, y en la fuerza como libertad.

Su lema: No tienes que parecer atleta para moverte como uno.

Escribe desde Los Ángeles, con su bocina a un lado y bloqueador en la mochila.
Este espacio es para quienes se están reclamando, paso a paso.

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The Ripple We Didn’t See