The Power of Taking Inventory of Our Feelings and Doing Less in This Busy World
Sometimes, I think we take on too much and do so for various reasons. Why we take on so many things at once is dependent upon the person and other factors like upbringing, current mental health status, or what they may be experiencing here and now. When we take on too much at once, which becomes habitual or our norm, we can experience burnout. I’m speaking from personal experience, but I’ve learned over time how to pause and take inventory of my life when I feel overwhelmed.
If someone’s home life was filled with rigidity and expectations to succeed as a child, this may have required them to do many things. They may have been excelling as students, involved in extracurricular activities such as sports or clubs and volunteering. At home, they may have had a lot of tasks or chores that they were expected to accomplish each day. This person, as an adult, probably thrives when there is a checklist of some sort. They probably use their calendar and reminders app to stay on schedule and are always early or on time.
For a person who may be feeling any anxiety but is not used to or open to really discussing their feelings, they may be replacing feelings with stuff. Maybe you’ve seen this person doing some retail therapy, or they may always seem busy. This person thrives when they have a lot to do because they are avoiding the need to work on what is causing the decline in their mental health status.
If a person is experiencing many changes in their personal life, the feeling of doing a lot can become usual or customary. If you ask them if they want to hike with you on Saturday morning, they’ll probably say yes even though they have other things they need to do. This person is always busy, and they are usually always “outside.”
What these three types of people have in common is that they all remain busy, and they probably don’t see anything wrong with this. They are not doing multiple things intentionally; it’s just how it is for them. The problem with these three types of people is that they do so much that they don’t have time to stop and inventory their feelings. The anxiety, the nerves, the worries, and the stress keep getting pushed off to another day until they can’t be pushed off any longer. Then they break down and can’t quite put their finger on what may be causing them to be upset, anxious, overwhelmed, or even angry.
Before we reach this point, let us vow to stop and pause at least twice daily to take inventory of how we feel. In the morning, after we wake up, we can take an inventory of our feelings so we know how to tackle the day ahead, and in the evening, we can take inventory of how our day went and how different interactions made us feel. The more we take the time to do this, the more we realize that we have been suppressing our feelings, which may lead us to answer why we have been doing this so that we can get to the root of our issues.
So, how can we take inventory? What are easy ways for a busy person to take a quick inventory?
While brushing your teeth, ask yourself how you’re feeling in the current moment and how that feeling will manifest throughout the rest of the day.
Before eating a meal, jot down a word that describes how you feel. Review your week at the end of the week and review how you felt overall. Decide if you need to make changes to your life that will contribute to your well-being.
Try the How We Feel app. This app is set up so that you can decide how many check-ins you do each day. The app also has a few learning sessions that can help you discover more about how you feel. The app is free and can be downloaded here on the Apple Store.
Regularly taking inventory of our feelings can lead to a greater sense of self-awareness and well-being. By acknowledging our emotions and learning to prioritize self-care, we empower ourselves to do less of what drains us and more of what feeds us. It is okay to pause, reflect, and prioritize our mental and emotional health in a world that often glorifies busyness.
