As a woman, I used to buy into the idea that we tend to be more likely to find ourselves in overwhelm. I thought men were better at taking time for themselves when they begin feeling stressed. I’m not sure if that’s really true anymore, but it does seem to still be a stereotype. The reasons why will be debated, whether it’s the way we were raised or if it’s our society or if you don’t even believe it’s true at all.
Creating an ageless life and business doesn’t have room for overwhelm. Being ageless is about having a life filled with joy and wonder and curiosity. Overwhelm comes from a place of feeling like you always have to do more. So the way out in the most simplistic way is to do the opposite, but how do you do that? You must quiet your mind to have an ageless mind.
The fact is overwhelm effects entrepreneurs, people with 9-5 jobs, and people who are retired and have overcommitted to making a difference in the world and caring for their family. Overwhelm has nothing to do with the type of work you do. It’s about how you choose and handle your commitments. Use these 5 easy steps to get out of overwhelm.
UPDATE: After posting this article, I did a Facebook Live video talking about the action steps I gave a client who called me in overwhelm. These action steps will help you too. And here’s the link to the other article I mentioned in the video.
I think it’s important to talk about the difference between overwhelm and real burnout. They are not the same thing and burnout can be a really serious situation.
According to HelpGuide.org you may be on the road to burnout if:
• Every day is a bad day.
• Caring about your work or home life seems like a total waste of energy.
• You’re exhausted all the time.
• The majority of your day is spent on tasks you find either mind-numbingly dull or overwhelming.
• You feel like nothing you do makes a difference or is appreciated.
The negative effects of burnout spill over into every area of life—including your home and social life. Burnout can also cause long-term changes in your body that make you vulnerable to illnesses like colds and flu. Because of its many consequences, it’s important to deal with burn out right away.
The difference between stress and burnout from a clinical perspective seems to be that stress leads to over-caring and doing too much. Burnout is reached when you no longer care or want to take action. This is very serious.
If you think you’ve reached the point of real burnout, check out what you can do here.
The answer for overwhelm is to stop doing!
Here are 5 easy steps to get out of overwhelm…right now!
#1 Take the time you don’t think you have.
You are currently operating on overdrive and that can’t last. If you keep pushing the result will definitely be a health crisis. Your body can only go this way for so long and then it breaks down.
#2 You need to at least take the time to breathe deeply.
Just take a couple deep slow breaths in and out. Close your eyes for a second and feel yourself in your body.
#3 Take the next step and talk a walk.
When you are paying attention to the sights and sounds around you, you will be out of overwhelm for a few minutes.
#4 Write in a journal.
Take a few minutes to get your thoughts on paper. Just getting them out of your head and on to paper can relax your mind by your brain not having to remember quite so many things at once.
#5 Take a hike, do yoga or go to the gym.
Exercising your body takes your mind off of overwhelm. You’ve heard the term, ‘blowing off some steam’? Well, there’s some truth to that. Expending energy on something other than thinking about how many things you have to do and how overwhelmed you are can get you out of overwhelm.
These simple steps can help give you enough temporary distance from your overwhelm to convince you to take another look at the commitments that are leading to your overwhelm. The first step would be to take a little time to set new goals for yourself. A great way to set goals that will support you is to use the Ageless Lifestyle Guide to Goal Setting and Achieving.
I highly recommend you use this step by step process for setting your goals and you will see that it makes a big difference in getting you out of overwhelm by giving you a clear and focused vision for what you are moving toward in your life.
If you don’t have a clear vision and blueprint for your life (including your health) and business, click here to be put on the waitlist to be notified of the next start date of my 6-week class, “How to Create a Vision for Your Life”.
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