Today I felt the crushing feeling of overwhelm. Do you know the feeling? Too much to do, not enough time. Going through the list of growing items screaming for your attention. As I looked at the growing laundry pile, the empty fridge, overflowing inbox and many tasks that needed to get done, I received a phone call.
My 12 year old daughter desperately shared. ”Mom, I can’t handle this pain anymore. I’m starving and I just want these things (braces) off.”
Yet another visit to the orthodontist office, the fourth in the last three weeks. Thankfully, our wonderful orthodontist has been compassionate and very helpful each time. Then another phone call, the regular after school play date for my eight year old daughter changed. Meaning I would need to pick up the girls from school today. Tuesdays are usually the day I work through till 7:00 p.m. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a Mom, at times though it makes it very difficult to run a business out of my home. Yesterday was a day off school for my daughters, so two days away from the computer results in a lot of build up.
What happens next?
Overwhelm . . .
As I vented to my husband on the phone, I realized that I needed to take three simple steps to refocus, and take action to overcome being overwhelmed.
3 Simple Tips to Overcoming Being Overwhelmed.
Are you ready? They are quite simple really.
- Breathe
- Relax
- Respond with kindness, love and gratitude
1. Breathe
Yes, breathing helps overcoming being overwhelmed. In moments of stress and fretting, taking a breath really helps. How often are you aware of the inhale and exhale of your breath, the rising and lowering of your abdomen as you breathe?
Breathe . . . Close your eyes . . . This too shall pass . . .
2. Relax
Taking a moment to relax creates an interruption of the overwhelm swirling around in your head. Now relaxation will be different to each person. For me to relax is to stop and remove myself from the stressor. I stepped away from the computer, went up to my bedroom and read a chapter of Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: (A Mostly True Memoir)
3. Respond with kindness, love and gratitude
There were some pretty nasty tapes going on in my head, beating myself down and feeling not so kind to myself. One of the steps to overcoming being overwhelmed is to respond to myself with kindness, love and gratitude.
- I chose to be kind to myself by stepping away from the computer, giving myself permission to not get everything done right now.
- Self-love is key in this process. Being gentle and loving by giving myself grace, recognizing that I can’t do everything right now.
- Gratitude stepped in with giving myself a pat on the back for what I did get accomplished today. Also for being adaptable and flexible to be there for my daughters.
In this moment I feel calm, relaxed and grateful for all I did get done today. Quite frankly, all the to dos aren’t going anywhere.
So overwhelm – I kicked you in the butt yet again with three simple steps.
How do you overcome being overwhelmed?
