Who's overwhelmed? Raise your hand.
Mine shoots right up sometimes. Yours?
Where does overwhelm come from?
I know what you're thinking right now. Because it's the same place my mind goes. But when we think it, we're not actually correct.
We think overwhelm comes from our circumstances, right?
The job, the kids, the project, the customer, the move, the bills, the deadline, the family, the home repair, the spouse, the...the...the. We are giving credit for our feeling of overwhelm to the circumstances of life. Of course, makes sense, right?
I'm going to offer, however, that's not true, and when we give the credit (or blame, actually) to all of our many circumstances, it can send us into a tailspin of overwhelm.
Overwhelm doesn't come from the actual circumstances...it comes from the thoughts we have about them.
We have control over our thoughts, which means we have control over our feelings, which means we have control over that overwhelm!
"I have so much to do." "I can't do this." "How will I get it all done?" "What if they don't ________?" "I don't know if I can handle it." "This won't work." "What will they think if ______?" " I thought ______ was going to happen and now _____." "What am I going to do?" "This is too hard." "I don't want to _____." "It won't be good enough."
Do you think these thoughts ever? I know you do. I do, too. We all do.
Our brains present those thoughts to us constantly through the day and very definitely when our routines are broken or life has more happening than whatever our "normal" feels like. Phew!
Those thoughts don't help us though do they? They bring an unnecessary negativity and questions we don't always know the answer to. So now, not only do we have overwhelm, but we get a healthy dose of "stuck" and "confusion," too.
How about these thoughts instead?
"I can handle this." "It will get done." "There is a solution to this problem and I'm going to find it." "I got this." "They'll understand." "This is my best right now and I love it." "I'm human, I have limits, and it's ok." "I can manage this change." "There is enough time today to do what I need to." "I'm figuring this out." "I can _____."
If I think THOSE thoughts, I've just traded up emotionally to Confident, Determined, Steadfast, Calm, Curious, Strategic, Peaceful, Satisfied and Productive. It is time to trade in the unhelpful thoughts for the ones that are going to get us where we want to go!
Say goodbye to overwhelm. It's indulgent, unnecessary, and keeps you from all the great things available for you!
