Today, let's talk about overwhelm and then how to sort it out!
Yuck. God, I absolutely hate feeling overwhelmed. I felt struck by it yesterday when I saw how many things were on my to-do list for the day (my response was to want to eat all the chocolate cake left in the fridge).
I felt overwhelmed even thought I was excited to do most of them or at least I would know I would be relieved and have the dopamine hit of something to tick off my list ;)
For you, it could be your to-do list or opening your email inbox. Maybe it is a big project ahead of you or what feels like a million smaller projects to complete.
It might be the mix of home and work needs that makes you feel overwhelmed.
You'd know the feeling - tight chest, shallow breathing, brain fog/shut down and a bit of adrenaline with the anxiety. You end up procrastinating, buffering with food, shopping, complaining, the internet etc.
As I said in my post yesterday on emotions, we all feel a range of emotions each day, no matter our life circumstances. I also said that all emotions are appropriate given our thoughts (and other things, like neurotransmitter levels etc).
Here in lies the opportunity to change overwhelm to calm, secure and confident - our thoughts.
Stick with me here. It's not about affirmations.
It's about uncovering what your automatic or unconscious thinking was that made you feel overwhelmed.
Here are some thoughts that may have lead to the overwhelmed feeling...
I don't have enough time.
There is too much to do.
I don't know what do to first.
I'll never get all this done.
It's the thoughts about the tasks/situations that create the feelings.
Another person may open their email and just think 'okay, what's on today, I'll just go through these one at a time' and not feel overwhelmed.
Feeling overwhelm is not compulsory, it's just a thought habit.
We can choose thoughts that make us feel calmer and more in control.
That means you will do better quality work, because the parts of your brain being used is creative, logical, organised and good with planning and executing, instead of fight, flight, freeze or fawn.
So how about finding a thought that gets you the feelings (and results) you want in a potentially overwhelming situation?
Something like - I do can do a lot of this easily and it will take less time than I imagine.
or - Things I find hard I will do tiny bit by tiny bit and ask for help when I need it.
or - I am great at this sh*t, my day will be so satisfying.
Your thoughts aren't facts, or objective. They are your opinion. You can change your thoughts when it serves you to live a more peaceful, happy and satisfying work life.
When you learn to manage your mind, even a little, the results are striking. It's the most important professional and personal development you'll ever do.
Soon you'll be able to do it in Smash It!
In the meantime, find a thought and notice how it makes you feel, then change it to feel even better.
Big love,
Lara xx