Overwhelmed? Dig in and Overcome It
The other day I was stuck. I was in a real mental rut and feeling scattered about work and life. There were crucial things on my plate for work and yet I was doing none of them. I was worried that things were falling through the cracks. Every time I sat down at the computer, I just zoned out. I was feeling overwhelmed by the new, scary things I was embarking on in my business and the scary things happening in the world (pandemic, wild fires, hurricanes, politics—ugh!).
That day I happened to have a call scheduled with my coach. Every good coach should have their own coach, in my opinion! Anyhow, I was dreading the call a bit. Not because I don’t like my coach, quite to the contrary. It was because I didn’t want to unpack what I was feeling and I didn’t know exactly how. I’m a coach, and shouldn’t this be easy for me?! What I know is that as human beings, it’s extremely difficult to think objectively when strong emotions, including overwhelm, are at play. It also takes a lot of energy and commitment to dig in and do the work necessary to process emotions. But, afterwards, we typically feel great. It’s like the amazing feeling and flush of energy you experience from a workout after forcing yourself to the gym. It’s an accomplishment and you feel productive for what’s next in the day, right?
With the help of my coach, I dug in on how I was feeling and listed everything I could think of that was causing my sense of overwhelm. I wrote it all down. Then, I decided on one small action to take for each item. Finally, I prioritized what needed to be done now and would could be done in the months to come, assigned a date and time frame to each, and added it all to my calendar. At the end of our call, I felt like I had just accomplished an hour on the stair master! I felt energetic, light, free, and back to myself again.
Do the steps that worked for me sound simple and elementary? I think they are, and yet it can be so difficult to do even the smallest of things on our own when in a downward spiral of overwhelm. This holds true for a lot of other similar and very common human conditions as well, such as procrastination and lack of motivation.
Try this out the next time you feel stuck and let me know what you think! Here are the steps again. Remember, feeling overwhelmed and getting stuck is normal. You get to choose when to take a break, when to process how you're feeling, and when to take action. You’ve got this!
1. Look at how you feel. Examine it. Feel it. Don’t push it away or ignore it. Sit with it. If overwhelmed by more than one thing, write them all down. And, if it feels right, journal how you’re feeling. This can help release it.
2. After processing and making your list, think of what can be done about each overwhelming matter you listed. What action can be taken to alleviate the feeling? This isn’t about ignoring your feelings or distracting yourself with something else, it’s about finding a productive solution. What is one small step you can take to push through and get back to a positive space with each item on your list?
3. Finally, consider when to take action. Prioritize your actions. Which are best done later? Which are important to do now? Assign a date and time frame for each item and add those to your calendar.
