Release yourself from overwhelm with these four simple steps

The other day I was feeling completely swamped, overwhelmed and stressed. I’d woken up with this impending sense of dread and overwhelm. Overwhelm is something I used to suffer with frequently. Now I can thankfully say I have strategies in place to help combat stress. I’ve done a lot of self-development that’s helped me to identify why I felt overwhelmed and anxious. But I am only human, so bouts of overwhelm still crop up, the only thing is now I don’t let them go unchecked.

The most overwhelming time in my life was when I was a new Mum of twins. I remember associating the overwhelm and stress to having so much on and kept saying to myself “if I can get them into a routine” then everything will be better. I look back now and realise that there was a lot more going on. I was also overwhelmed because I was a new Mum who had no idea what I was doing. I was terrified. So the overwhelm wasn’t only because I was busy. I allowed myself to stay in a state of panic for far too long, I accepted this state as “normal”, and it took a crisis to get me to take notice and realise this wasn’t normal.  

I’ve had similar feelings of overwhelm when it comes to significant changes in life and business - wondering if I’m making the right decision? Wondering if something will work out?

Overwhelm isn’t only about feeling busy. It’s also connected to fears. 

If we flip the thoughts behind a limiting belief, we can see them as a valuable lesson. Instead of seeing the limiting belief as something negative, perhaps there’s a valuable lesson? Maybe it’s the next step, the next level.

So taking the advice, I give my clients I got curious to why I was feeling this way.

Do you ever feel… 

• As if you'll never get through your to-do list
• You find it so hard to get going that things only get done when they become pressingly urgent.
• The scary, but impactful things get put off indefinitely.

Does any of this resonate?

Certain times of the year can be more overwhelming than others and 2020 okay let’s face it, has probably been the most overwhelming year ever.

So how do you combat overwhelm?

Managing overwhelm starts with getting curious and focusing in on what’s important to you.

Here are four practical steps for combating overwhelm:

1. Brain dump or journal - get everything out of your head and onto paper -  you don’t have to make sense of it straight away, just free write. Don’t underestimate how empowering this process is.
2. Now do the do, decide, ditch and delegate on everything that you’ve brain dumped. Be brutal. Do not be a slave to your diary.
3. Then highlight the things that will get you closer to your goals - life and business.
4. Ask yourself these qualifying questions. Will this bring me closer to my goals? And if it doesn’t what do I need to let go of or focus on instead?

So next time you feel overwhelmed, try out this process and send me a message and let me know how you get on.