Fatigue Makes Cowards of Us All
Why Tired People Make Bad Decisions
The world is at war.
Not for the first time, but for the second.
Across Europe, young men are fighting on the front lines in a conflict that will shape the future of the world.
Every day brings another battle. Every battle demands another decision.
One mistake can cost a man his life.
A few mistakes can cost a unit the battle.
Enough lost battles can cost a nation the war.
So what do you say to soldiers who are exhausted, overwhelmed, and facing danger day after day?
What wisdom do you give men whose success depends on making good decisions under extraordinary pressure?
General George S. Patton offered a simple but profound answer:
Fatigue makes cowards of us all.
Patton was speaking about courage on the battlefield, but his insight extends far beyond war. Most of us will never face enemy fire, yet every one of us faces decisions.
And just as fatigue can rob a soldier of courage, it can rob ordinary people of clarity, judgment, and wisdom.
Before we make an important decision, perhaps we should ask a disgustingly simple question:
Am I in the right condition to make this decision?
The reason is simple: fatigue changes more than our energy level. It changes our perspective.
1. Fatigue Makes Risks Look Bigger
Years ago, I was invited to consider a job opportunity in Central California. The organization was willing to fly me out and cover my expenses during the interview process.
At the time, I already had a full-time job in Nashville. The wonderful young lady I would eventually marry was finishing her final year of college.
I also worked a part-time job on weekends with an organization nearly fifty miles away. On Sunday evenings, I would rush home just so I could spend dinner with my girlfriend.
I was busy.
I was stretched thin.
Most importantly, I was tired.
The interesting thing is that I already had positive feelings about California. I had visited the state a couple of times during college and enjoyed both experiences.
Yet when the opportunity arrived, I didn’t focus on the possibilities. I focused on the risks.
California is 2,000 miles away.
My sweetheart is in Nashville.
My family is back in North Carolina.
I don’t know a single person in that organization.
The list of concerns kept growing. The risks seemed larger and larger while the potential benefits became smaller and smaller.
Eventually, I declined the opportunity without ever taking the trip.
I’m not suggesting that moving to California would have been the right decision.
Looking back, I simply wish I had gathered more information before making the decision.
Fatigue didn’t just affect my energy level. It affected my perspective.
Our situation may not change at all, but our ability to evaluate it often does.
That’s what fatigue often does. It can cause us to magnify the risks and minimize the opportunities.
Our situation may not change at all, but our ability to evaluate it often does.
2. Fatigue Makes Problems Feel Larger
Several years ago, after losing what I thought was my dream job, I took a job as a route salesman for a major bread distributor to help support my family.
The work wasn’t terrible. I enjoyed the people. I made friends in the warehouse and in the stores I serviced. One store manager even asked me to perform his wedding ceremony.
The problem wasn’t the job. The problem was the schedule.
My day started around 2:30 in the morning and ended with an early bedtime just so I could do it all again the next day. I was constantly tired.
My wife still refers to that season of our lives as “The Dark Years.”
One day I came to a surprising realization: before I could make a rational decision about changing jobs, I might need a different job simply to get enough rest to think clearly.
I wasn’t just struggling with a career problem.
I was struggling with a fatigue problem.
Sometimes the first problem to solve isn’t the problem. It’s the fatigue that’s keeping us from solving the problem.
Many mornings and afternoons, while driving between stops, I found myself praying and asking God to help me find something different.
At the time, every problem seemed enormous. Financial concerns, family challenges, and ordinary frustrations felt overwhelming.
Looking back, things weren’t nearly as bad as they appeared.
In fact, that job taught me lessons that prepared me for the work I’ve now done for almost twenty years.
The circumstances were difficult, but fatigue made them feel unbearable.
That’s what exhaustion often does. It magnifies problems and shrinks perspective.
What appears to be the end of the world today may simply be a tired mind trying to interpret reality.
Fatigue has a way of turning molehills into mountains.
3. Fatigue Pushes Us Toward Poor Decisions
Anyone who has ever raised a child understands what happens when that child becomes exhausted.
They become irritable.
They become emotional.
They cry over small things.
They act irrationally.
A toy breaks, and it’s the end of the world.
A sibling says something hurtful and a full-scale meltdown begins.
As parents, we recognize the problem immediately. The child doesn’t need a lecture.
The child needs rest.
The funny thing is that many of us stop recognizing that pattern when we become adults.
We still become irritable.
We still become emotional.
We still overreact.
We still make poor decisions.
The only difference is that our meltdowns look more sophisticated.
The exhausted child cries over a broken toy.
The exhausted adult quits a job, sends an angry email, starts an unnecessary argument, or makes a financial decision simply to escape the stress of the moment.
Fatigue has a way of pushing us toward decisions that provide immediate relief rather than using long-term wisdom.
A tired mind wants the discomfort to stop.
A wise mind wants the right outcome.
Those are not always the same thing.
Before making an important decision, it may be worth asking:
Is this the wisest choice, or am I simply looking for relief because I’m exhausted?
4. Men in Condition Do Not Tire
Patton didn’t stop with the observation that “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.”
He followed it with another statement:
Men in condition do not tire.
What an interesting contrast.
Most of us spend our lives focused on our decisions.
Patton focused on the decision-maker’s condition.
The decision itself isn’t always the problem. Sometimes the condition of the decision-maker is the problem.
He understood that courage in battle didn’t begin when the bullets started flying.
It began long before the battle with:
Training
Preparation
Discipline
Conditioning
The same principle applies to our everyday lives.
The best decisions are rarely made in the moment.
They are often the result of what happened before the moment.
A well-rested person will usually make better decisions than an exhausted person.
A calm person will usually make better decisions than an overwhelmed person.
A prepared person will usually make better decisions than a distracted person.
In other words, better decisions often begin with better condition.
Maybe that’s why so many of our biggest mistakes happen when we’re tired, stressed, overwhelmed, angry, discouraged, or burned out.
The decision itself isn’t always the problem.
Sometimes the decision-maker’s condition is the problem.
Before making an important decision, perhaps we should ask Patton’s question in reverse:
Am I fatigued, or am I in condition?
Because fatigue makes poor decisions more likely.
But condition makes wise decisions more possible.
Closing
Patton didn’t stop with the observation that “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” He also reminded his men that “Men in condition do not tire.”
That raises an important question:
How do we place ourselves in the best condition to make wise decisions?
In an upcoming article, Better Condition, Better Decisions: Four Ways to Improve Your Decision-Making Condition, we’ll explore practical ways to strengthen the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual condition that supports good decisions.