I had the same amount of things to do today than I did last week and yet I didn't feel overwhelmed and I got stuff done.
Overwhelm is a visitor that has paid me plenty of visits in this life. And as I begin to almost befriend it or take time to learn from it, I realize that when I let the overwhelm rain all over me, I don't get much done. It seems to paralyze me and thus more overwhelm comes.
On the other hand, after taking some time over the weekend to rest--and let's be honest, I even felt a little overwhelmed with personal and household projects--something shifted today and my focus was no longer on Ms. Overwhelm overstaying her visit, it was instead on slowly getting sh...stuff done.
I know this. I've been coached around this and I myself have coached others on this very topic. It's what I preach--that if you break a big project down into smaller more bite-sized tasks, you'll first of all feel more successful because you've finally gotten something done on the path towards your goals, and you won't be overwhelmed with the sometimes enormity of your dreams.
I dream big. And I also dream bite-sized.
Another topic that is related to overwhelm that I've been reading about for awhile now is being a highly sensitive person or HSP. Yes, I am an HSP. I believe deep down that we all are, but I have been blessed with hypersensitivity from the get-go. And with this gift comes overwhelm at times, from things that people who aren't as in tune yet with their sensitivity might not have ever imagined. They may at some point though experience flashes of it, especially when they're extremely vulnerable, such as in grieving times or times of illness.
I, on the other hand, feel overwhelmed by sounds or noise, social interaction without quiet breaks to recover, or the TV or the radio. I'm more resilient and can bounce back quite quickly when I'm fully grounded and have taken time for me on a regular basis. If I take time to slow to my preferred pace, if I take time to do the things I really enjoy like being creative or outside in nature, if I take time to refuel my energy through quiet reflection time, then I don't feel as overwhelmed.
I think these resilience building activities can help with any kind of overwhelm actually.
It's getting to the point when you stop embodying the overwhelm and instead start taking it one small bite at a time. That takes time and practice. And greater awareness helps the process even more.
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