The Reason Why You’re Feeling Overwhelmed Might Not Be What You Think
A look at overwhelm from a different perspective
We all experience overwhelm at some point in our lives. Multiple times in our lives, actually! And this is especially true when we are working toward making a dream come true.
In our already busy lives finding time to add more stuff to our plate is never easy, and we often feel like we can’t do it all.
Guess what the first thing that usually gets sacrificed is?
Yes, our dreams.
We put our goals on hold, and postpone them to a distant time in the future.
When I’ll have time…
But that time might never come.
If your dream is something you believe will improve the quality of your life, and thinking about it makes you feel good, then putting it on hold is the worst thing you can do.
Even if it’s “only for a couple of months”.
So before you pull the breaks on the pursuit of your desires, please allow me to give you a new perspective on how you can reduce your overwhelm and get back into (inspired) action mode.
The usual take on overwhelm
To overcome overwhelm we must first understand where it comes from, which usually boils down to two scenarios:
- You have too much on your plate
- You are getting lost in a hundred tiny details
In both cases, the most common piece of advice is that you learn to prioritize.
Strop trying to juggle it all, understand what really serves you and what doesn’t, and review your to-do list to identify what is not necessary, what you can postpone, and what you can delegate.
We’ve heard this before, and it’s all important.
But what if your overwhelm stemmed from a suboptimal use of your resources, instead?
Energy > Time
The levels of physical and creative energy that you have when you sit down to get some work done, determine (a) how much you will get done and (b) how well and effectively you will do the things that you’ll do.
The feeling of being overwhelmed usually stems from an “I’ve got too much to do” narrative.
Let’s try to flip that to an “I don’t have enough energy to do all that I want to do” narrative.
If we do that, we might find that what we need isn’t to take things off our plates, but rather preserve our energy reservoir and fill our cups more often.
A more holistic approach
The question I’d like you to ask yourself at this point is:
Where am I wasting my energy?
Where are you giving your energy away to things that drain you of your creative juice and love for life?
Here are some of the most common energy-drainers:
- Getting angry
- Worrying about what might happen in the future
- Ruminating about what happened in the past
- Taking offense
Emotions can give us energy or can take energy away from us
Think of how energized and inspired you feel after receiving some great news. And think about how you feel after you’ve had an argument with your partner.
Two very different states.
Anger affects your body, thoughts, and feelings.
It causes adrenaline to enter your bloodstream, increases your blood flow, and makes your muscles tense up.
When the wave of anger is over, you can get stuck in your head for a long time, thinking about what happened and keeping your nervous system in a state of dysregulation.
If you’re being honest, how much energy expenditure could you avoid, if you learned to manage your trigger?
Reframing overwhelm
Next time you feel overwhelmed, ask yourself:
- How much of my precious energy am I wasting?
How much energy have I been wasting getting angry, taking offense, worrying about the future, or getting upset about the past — and in general, getting heated up about situations that weren’t worthy of my energy? - How are these things affecting my ability to focus and create?
Would I have more energy to dedicate to what matters to me and what I have to do now, if I chose a better alternative?
Would I have had more inspiration, creativity, and energy to work on my projects today?
Would I have made more progress in achieving my goal, in general? - Where in my day can I incorporate activities that fill me up with positive, propulsive energy?
What makes me feel inspired and energetic?
What empowers me to take action?
How can I make space to experience more of the things that give me energy?
Your peace of mind is and will always be the most important asset you have. Protect your energy, protect your creativity, and be selective of what you put your attention on.
You might find that preserving your energy and refilling your cup can yield great results on your productivity and sense of accomplishment.
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