When your head spins with to-do lists, your inbox is overflowing, and your desk is cluttered with stuff that needs to be handled… the overwhelm can trigger a feeling that’s anything but empowering. Cocktail, anyone?
Feeling overwhelmed by your work and life is a fast way to kill your emotional well-being. I lived in overwhelm for over a year and it darn near killed me. The good news is that overwhelm can be stopped dead in its tracks when you can see that it’s a choice.
It’s a perspective. And if it’s a choice to feel overwhelmed, then you can easily choose some other perspective to replace it.
But before you know how to shift out of it, you have to actually pinpoint what is driving it. When I was in the grips of overwhelm, it was because I had a fear of not making enough revenue. I also thought that taking massive action was the key to profit generation. When I couldn’t check off all the to-do’s on this list, I believed that the roof would cave in on me.
What’s behind your overwhelm? Pleasing others? Unreal expectations? Fear of failure? Lack of self-confidence in your ability to attract wealth? Inability to stay present in the moment?
Most likely you have a combination of several beliefs going on that have your head ready to burst. Overwhelm can also be caused by repeatedly focusing on a problem without shifting into solution-seeking mode. For instance, you can be triggered by an unexpected car repair bill, and all of a sudden you’re consumed with fear about money in general. You begin to conjure up several worst-case scenarios. Within minutes you’re so riled up that you can’t even focus on your work.
Both types of overwhelm require you to step out of the fog or adrenaline of stress. Start chunking down the problem. Your brain can only focus on one thing at a time successfully. After you identify the driver of the stress, ask yourself what is one thing you can do right now to make you feel in control. Then take the action. This will begin to shift you back into your power.
As a business owner, you will always have a never-ending list of things you want to do to improve your business. Make friends with that list. It doesn’t rule you; you rule it. They’re your ideas, and you only have so many hours in a day. You get to choose what you work on, in what order, and how much time you want to give it.
There is only one illusion happening when you’re in overwhelm… that you have no control. You’ve made up that you don’t have enough time, enough money, or enough solutions. But it all comes down to a choice. Choose to come back to your center. You have to deliberately SNAP yourself out of it.
Once you align with your power, you’ll see that you’ve always had control. You never lose it. Sometimes you just can’t see it behind your fear.
