When YOU Are So Overwhelmed, What Do You Think Happens NEXT?

WHEN YOU ARE SO OVERWHELMED, WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENS NEXT?

One of the things I notice with my clients is that when overwhelm sets in, they tend to procrastinate.

They look at their to-do list or their project and it feels like too much. The list is too long and they don’t know where to start. Or maybe the project they are planning looks like it will take longer than they expected or be more challenging than they thought. It feels uncomfortable for sure. That feeling is overwhelm. What do you think is going to happen next?

You will procrastinate - which is a very common result of overwhelm.

As you may know, your?brain?is designed to protect you with most efficiency and speed. So when you feel this very uncomfortable feeling overwhelm, your?brain?goes immediately to work to STOP you from taking these actions that are causing it.

So, when you are thinking that you keep getting distracted when you want to sit down and accomplish your to-do list and you just can’t focus on it, it’s so normal. It’s just your?brain?trying to stop you from focusing on it. Period. It does a very good job to make sure you are taking no action at all, so the distractions will come one after the other till you divert your focus.

When this happens, of course, it adds additional stress and anxiety to their already overwhelming situation. Not only do you have these things you must get done, but now you have pushed them off another day, so you are even more anxious about it.

The overwhelm is actually not the place to fix this problem by the way. The overwhelm isn’t the cause of the procrastination. It’s actually the thoughts causing the overwhelm that is really the culprit.

So if you want to truly stop feeling so overwhelmed and pushing your very important tasks off over and over again, the place to start is in your thoughts. Identify the thoughts creating that overwhelm. What stories are you creating in your mind about that project or to do list?

Are you thinking, 'I don’t know where to start', 'this is too much', 'I don’t feel like doing this', 'this is going to be harder than I thought'? Any of these could cause you to feel overwhelm. You may want to try a different approach.

When you notice your thoughts that keep causing the overwhelm, you may want to acknowledge them first and allow that intense overwhelm to sit there, but at the same time, think about what thoughts you can think instead.

If thinking this is harder than I thought, you may want to shift that slightly to something like “ok, I can figure this out”. And then take a deep breath to reset. It helps. It really does help you create a different perspective.

Then say something like, I’m ok, I’ve got this, or I’m safe, I can do this. (You want to remind your?brain?that you are ok even if you feel overwhelmed, so it doesn't offer up all the juicy distractions to take your attention from that important task).

Then remember that baby steps in the right direction are so powerful. So just take one step. Take one action, do one thing on your list. Even if you feel scared, or overwhelmed, just do one thing.

You will notice how much more accomplished you feel, you will be moving forward and you will also build your confidence to take the very next small step and so on.

Try this out and share how it goes for you. Does it give you a bit more ease while taking action toward your goals, and business growth?

When you are ready to BE more, ACHIEVE more and EARN more so you can confidently live your best life - both personally and professionally, reach out to?www.womensbiztribe.com