A common consequence of the busy lives we lead nowadays is that many of us often find ourselves in a state of overwhelm. I know I do! It feels like there there’s always so much to do on my never-ending to-do list and never enough hours to get it all done.
Even though overwhelm appears to be about doing and having lots to do, it’s actually a state of being first. Believe it or not, it is possible to have lots to do and not feel overwhelmed. There are many more states you can be in that will make you more productive. In fact, judging from the effect it has, it seems like overwhelm is about not getting anything done!
Overwhelm makes you feel like it’s motivating you to be efficient but really it’s a state of being that stems from fear. You are being driven by a fear of a negative consequence of some kind, and your focus is solely on the outcome, which takes the joy out of the process. Remember, it’s not just about the destination but the journey.
You’ve got to surround yourself with good people because no matter who you are, it can be very hard to see your own stuff. That’s why a good coach will have a good coach. I’m fortunate to have some wonderfully insightful people in my life and one of them is my beautiful little sister.
I recently found myself in a seriously funky mood and had no idea why. I vented to my sister who turned to me and simply said “it sounds like you’re upset because certain things are not living up to your expectations.”
Lightbulb moment! She was right. I had set extremely high expectations for a call I did, but after the call I felt like I had done a terrible job. (In hindsight, it was all illusion there was nothing wrong with the call!)
This sent me into a downward spiral fuelled by some negative self-talk. As soon as my sister told me what she could see it was very clear – I was beating myself up for failing.
To some people money and worry go together like salt and pepper. They worry about how they are going to pay their bills, how they are going to afford a new kitchen, whether or not the interest rates will go up, where to put their savings, heck they worry about whether they can even afford to save!
This chronic worrying has become an accepted part of managing money, so much so that people that do not worry about money are viewed as living in cloud cuckoo land or simply being in denial.
I first heard the Broken Dreams poem during Rev. Dr. Lorraine Cohen and Rev. Anita Pathik Law’s Aligning with Destiny course (which I highly recommend by the way) and loved it immediately and hope you do too:
Broken Dreams
As children bring their broken toys
With tears for us to mend
I brought my broken dreams to God
Because He was my friend
But then instead of leaving Him
In peace to work alone
I hung around and tried to help
In ways that were my own
At last I snatched them back and cried
”How could You be so slow?”
”My child” He said, “What could I do?
You never did let go?”
Don’t you just love a-ha moments?
They’re a bit like looking at an optical illusion; you spend time focusing on the image knowing there is something there that you cannot see and then BINGO something in your perspective shifts and you see it!
After having most of last year off having a baby I was really looking forward to getting back to work and implementing all that I had been inspired to during my time away. I have big plans for this year and in January sat down with my coach to put legs under this plan.
“In preparing for battle, I have often found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable” Dwight D. Eisenhower
