Over this last week I have been bogged down with quite a huge workload that has left me feeling rather overwhelmed. You know those kinds of days where you experience 9 emotions within an hour? Those days where you have a priority list on 15 things that were all due yesterday. Or, where your ability to retain information and process through a large ‘To Do List’ can seem unbearably impossible to get through? Those days happen. To everyone and not just a selected few. The one thing I have learnt over the last 4 years is that it is absolutely ok to have days or even weeks like that.
So I have been pondering over what some of those key tools or strategies are that I use when I am going through periods of being overwhelmed. This week's Blog is going to cover 5 strategies I use. They are not in any particular order, either.
PEP TALK
I talk to myself and this is something that I do relentlessly. We have so many thoughts throughout a day that we should always be aware of what we are thinking and saying to ourselves. So, if I am not feeling ok, I would first reflect on what I am saying to myself or thinking about. This is usually where I identify that I have been saying unhelpful things which perpetuates the feeling. So I make sure to start replacing those thoughts with more uplifting ones. Sometimes, I have to hype myself up and remind myself I can do it and I am enough. You know why? Because we should always be our biggest supporters.
THE RIGHT SUPPORT
Sometimes all we need is to talk to the right person at the right time. This can sometimes be to soundboard our thoughts or to give us advice. Sometimes, we just want or need someone to talk to and listen to us. We definitely need to make sure that we choose the right person to talk to. If you are talking to someone and it is making you feel worse? Then stop the conversation and find someone else to talk to. I have different people I can reach out to depending on what it is I need. Not everyone has our best interest at heart. And not everyone can help us. So make sure we choose wisely who we reach out to, who we share personal information with and who we allow into our lives.
TIME OUT
If things are too overwhelming then:
1. Stop doing what you are doing, get up, walk away and go do something else.
2. Let your mind rest for a bit then go back to the task after some time away. This usually allows some space for you to refresh and reset.
PRAYER
Sometimes, I need clarity & guidance from a higher source than myself. I'm Christian specifically LDS, so praying to God is important to me. It allows me to seek guidance, lay my problems at his feet and have faith that things will work out exactly the way they are meant to. Communing with God also allows me to ponder and meditate; this helps quiet my mind. Prayer also helps set goals and live up to them. Praying about the tasks at hand and willing yourself to summon the strength it takes to overcome them creates positive energy within.
LASTLY SERVING OTHERS
My Dad taught me the best feeling was serving people. He taught me that if I am feeling sad or alone, I should go out and find someone in the world who I can serve and then serve them. I learned that it took my mind off my own problems, that I felt less overwhelmed and that it felt great to think less of myself and more of others. So, whenever I am feeling overwhelmed, I make sure to check in on someone and this has helped me think less of the overwhelmed feelings I have and focus more on others.
There are many other tools that I use. But these are 5 that I have been using lately to help me get through the sense of being overwhelmed by a busy life. Life can be challenging at times but we always
Photography Credit: Puutanga Waitoa
There you are - looking like a real "Queen". Much love.