041: Motivation & Metabolism | Why You’re Not Lazy, You’re Running on Empty

0:00 On the Powers That Be podcast, we examine the players and currents behind today's most consequential decisions. Join us, listen to the Powers That Be wherever you get your podcasts.

0:18 Welcome to the Warriors Haven Podcast, the place where discipline meets purpose and everyday people become unstoppable. I'm your host, Jaisha Sutherland, a retired Army drill sergeant, single mom, and the founder of the Warriors Haven. Around here, we talk fitness, mindset, and the mission of building a stronger you, mentally, physically, and financially. Because this isn't just about the gym. It's about life, leadership, and living on your terms. So gear up, lock in, and let's step into the haven where warriors are made.

1:19 And today I want to talk to you about something most people I don't think have ever connected before. And something I don't really hear much conversation about. And that is motivation and metabolism. And I get it, I know. At first, those two things sound completely unrelated. One sounds like psychology, the other sounds like biology. One sounds like mindset, the other sounds like nutrition. But what if they're actually connected? What if the reason you struggle to stay motivated isn't because you're lazy?

2:03 What if it's not because you're weak? What if it's not because you lack discipline? What if your body is simply running low on energy? Well, today I want to challenge one of the biggest lies in personal development, and that is the idea that motivation comes first. I don't believe it does. In fact, the longer I study performance, psychology, biology, and human behavior, the more convinced I become that motivation is often the result of energy, not the cause of it. Think about it. When you feel energized, everything feels easier.

2:54 You want to work out, you want to clean the house, you want to work on your goals, you want to show up, you want to take action. But in the contrary, when you're exhausted, even simple tasks feel overwhelming. You're still the same person with the same goals, the same dreams, the same life. The only thing that changed was your energy. And when your energy changes, your motivation changes too. So today I want to show you what's happening behind the scenes inside our body and why understanding your metabolism may completely change how you think about motivation forever.

3:44 Stay with me on this one. I think it's gonna be a really fun episode.

3:51 So, friend, can I be honest? I do love picking on motivation. Because motivation gets way too much attention. People talk about motivation like it's some magical force that suddenly appears one day. They say things like, I'm just waiting to feel motivated. I'll start Monday. I need more motivation. No, you need more energy because motivation is unreliable. It comes and goes. Some days it's there and some days it's not. And if you're waiting on motivation before taking action, you're handing control of your life over to your emotions.

4:38 That's why here at the Warriors Haven, we don't build our lives around motivation. We build them around energy and discipline. Because energy creates action. Action creates confidence. Confidence creates discipline. And discipline creates identity. But before we get into discipline, we need to understand energy because everything starts there. So I want you to imagine that every single thing you do costs money. Stay with me on this one, okay? Getting out of bed costs money. Walking costs money. Thinking costs money.

5:31 Reading costs money. Working out costs money. Building a business costs money. Even listening to this episode right now costs money. And you're probably thinking, yeah, Jay, all those things you mentioned costs money. But I'm not talking about actual dollars. I'm talking about energy dollars. See, scientists call these energy dollars ATP. ATP is the energy your body uses to do work. Every heartbeat, every breath, every thought, every movement, everything requires ATP. Now don't get caught up in the big scientific name.

6:25 Just remember this. ATP is energy. Think of ATP like a fully loaded gift card. When your body needs to do something, it spends some of that energy, some of that gift card. The moment that happens, ATP changes into something called a DP. Now here's the simple version. A TP is the charged battery. A DP is the battery after some power has been used. A TP is full. A DP needs recharging. That's it. And this is where metabolism becomes incredibly important because your metabolism is the charging station.

7:29 Every time you eat nutritious food, every time you breathe oxygen, every time you sleep, every time you move your body, your metabolism takes those resources and recharges a DP back into a TP. It's constantly restoring your energy supply. Think about charging your phone overnight. When you wake up, the battery is full again. Your body is doing that every second of every day. Scientists estimate that the average person recycles their entire body weight in ATP every single day. That's how much energy your body is constantly producing and reusing.

8:25 Spend, recharge. Spend, recharge. Spend, recharge. It's happening right now as you listen to me. And if your body's ability to recharge ATP becomes less efficient, your energy starts dropping. And when energy drops, motivation often follows.

9:01 Your brain only makes up about two percent of your body weight, yet it uses roughly twenty percent of your body's energy. Think about that. One fifth of your energy goes to your brain. Your brain is expensive, friend. And because it uses so much energy, it constantly monitors how much fuel is available. Researchers like Dr. Andrew Hubberman often explain that your brain is continuously accessing energy, its availability, before deciding how much effort it's willing to spend. In other words, your brain is constantly asking, do we have enough energy for this?

9:53 If the answer is yes, you feel focused, driven, optimistic, even motivated. If the answer is no, your brain starts conserving energy. So let's go back to our phones. Let's think about it. When the battery gets low, what happens? The screen dims, performance slows down, certain functions shut off, your body does something very similar. When energy becomes limited, your brain begins conserving resources. It starts reducing expensive activities like focus, decision making, self-control, memory, emotional regulation, problem solving, long-term planning.

10:44 And what's fascinating is that most people call this a lack of motivation. Scientists call it energy conservation. Your brain isn't trying to sabotage you, it's trying to protect you. Thousands of years ago, conserving energy helped humans survive. Today, it often looks like procrastination, scrolling social media, avoiding difficult tasks, skipping workouts, putting off goals. The behavior isn't always a character flaw. Sometimes it's biology. So now, friend, let's talk about another favorite subject of mine, and that's dopamine.

11:29 Most people call dopamine the happiness chemical, and that's not exactly true. Dopamine is more accurately described as a motivation and pursuit chemical. It's what creates drive, it's what helps you chase goals, it's what makes effort feel worthwhile. Here's what many people don't realize. Healthy dopamine function requires energy. Everything in your brain requires energy. When ATP production slows down, dopamine signaling can suffer. And when dopamine signaling suffers, everything starts feeling harder.

12:13 Not impossible, just harder. The workout feels harder. The business task feels harder. The difficult conversation feels harder. The healthy meal feels harder. The goal suddenly feels farther away. Not because you've become lazy, because your batteries are running low. So, friend, let's connect the dots. Millions of adults today are sleep deprived. Many are actually really sitting still. Many are chronically stressed. Many consume highly processed foods, many spend most of their day indoors, and all of those things impact metabolism.

12:59 All of those things impact ATP production. All of those things impact energy, which means all of those things impact motivation. So when someone says, I just don't feel motivated anymore, I often wonder if they're asking the wrong question. Maybe the better question is, what is draining my energy? Because motivation may simply be the symptom. Energy may be the root cause.

13:38 So let's talk about three things that you can maybe start doing today. And let's make it practical. For the first one.

13:50 Eat protein earlier in the day. Protein provides the building blocks your brain uses to create important neurotransmitters. Aim for twenty five to forty grams of protein just within the first few hours of waking up. Stable fuel leads to stable energy. Stable energy leads to better focus and performance.

14:21 Number two, take a 10-minute walk after meals. This sounds almost too simple, but research shows walking after meals helps support healthy blood sugar levels. More stable blood sugar often means more stable energy. More stable energy means your brain has a steadier fuel supply. And that means fewer crashes later in the day. You know the one I'm talking about. That 2 p.m. crash we constantly say and feel. That one. And number three, get morning sunlight before that phone light, before social media, before email, before the chaos.

15:10 Just step outside. Five to ten minutes. Natural sunlight helps regulate your body's internal clock, improve alertness, and support better sleep later that night. It's one of the simplest and most powerful habits you can build.

15:34 So, friend, let me leave you with this. You are not lazy, you are not broken, and chances are you are not suffering from a motivation problem. You're dealing with a body and a brain that are constantly trying to manage energy. And once you understand that, everything changes because now you're no longer fighting yourself, you're working with your biology. You stop waking up asking, what's wrong with me? And you start asking, how can I create more energy today? Because energy creates action. Action creates confidence.

16:20 Confidence creates discipline. And discipline creates identity. That's why here at the Warriors Haven, we don't chase motivation. Motivation is emotional. Motivation comes and goes. We focus on energy and discipline. Because when your energy improves, discipline becomes easier. And when discipline becomes easier, your life starts changing. One choice at a time, one habit at a time, one day at a time. So I want you to pick just one thing from today's episode. Not all three, just one. Maybe it's eating more protein in the morning.

17:17 Maybe it's taking a walk after lunch. Maybe it's getting sunlight before touching your phone. Pick one, master it, then build from there. Because transformation doesn't happen because of one giant decision. Transformation happens because of hundreds of small decisions that align with the person you're becoming. If today's episode helped you see motivation differently, I'd love to invite you into the Warriors Haven community. It's inside our school community. I share daily tips, strategies, and practical lessons on energy, discipline, fitness, mindset, and rebuilding your identity.

18:06 No fake motivation, no fluff, no highlight reels, just real-world tools to help you become stronger mentally, physically, and emotionally. The link will be in the show notes. So I hope you come join us. And before we wrap up, I want to share something exciting as well. Many of you know me as your favorite drill sergeant, but this year I'm stepping into another role. The role of being an author. My first book, The Warrior's Haven Edge, is scheduled to launch at the end of this year. This book is the accumulation of everything I've learned through my military service, rebuilding my life after adversity, entrepreneurship, energy management, discipline, and identity transformation.

19:02 It's not a book about being perfect. It's a book about learning how to rebuild when life knocks you down. It's about becoming the person you're capable of becoming. And if today's episode resonated with you, I think you're going to love what's inside those pages. We're putting together a special wait list where you'll get behind-the-scenes updates, exclusive insights, early announcements, bonus content, and access to information before the official launch. If you'd like to be one of the first people to know when the Warriors Haven Edge releases, join the wait list.

19:41 And that can be found at the Warriorshavenbook.com. I'll also drop the link in the show notes as well. I'd be honored to have you on that journey with me.

19:55 And now let me leave you with this. Protect your energy, build your discipline, guard your standards. And remember this: the goal isn't to become more motivated. The goal is to become so energized, so focused, and so disciplined that taking action becomes a part of who you are. Because when you change your energy, you change your actions. When you change your actions, you change your identity. And when you change your identity, you change your life. You've been listening to the Warriors Haven podcast.

20:37 And once again, I'm your favorite drill sergeant Jay. So until the next episode, and we finish off this series, Built by Discipline. We only have just a few more left, friends. I want you to stay strong, stay focused, and stay ready.

21:11 Thanks for tuning in to the Warriors Haven podcast, where we turn discipline into freedom and help you build the body, mindset, and lifestyle you deserve. If today's episode fired you up or gave you just that little push you needed, don't stop here. Head on over to theWarriorsHaven.com where you'll find details on how to jumpstart the next version of you. Remember, it's not about being perfect. It's about showing up for yourself every single day. So until next time, stay strong, stay focused, and stay ready.

21:42 I'm Jaisha Sutherland, and you're listening to the Warriors Haven podcast.