Tired is not the same as off course.

We treat difficulty as evidence. If the work is draining, we must have picked the wrong work. If the conversation was hard, perhaps it should not have been had.

Sometimes that is right, and worth listening to.

But a fair number of good things are heavy by design. The first year of anything. Looking after someone. Learning a skill late, in front of people half your age. Staying honest when a small lie would smooth the whole afternoon.

Tired is not the same as off course.