With so much going on how do we combat the feelings of overwhelmed? There’s so much I need to do, so much I want to do, and sometimes I get all caught up in my head. I get caught up with the thoughts of inadequacy and thoughts of feeling like there’s not enough time.
Thoughts of feeling less than.
It’s amazing no matter how much we’ve accomplished or how much we’ve overcome, we tend to forget them. And at the first sign of not achieving a dream, we’re so quick to berate ourselves. At least that’s what I use to do, a lot.
For me, the best ways of combating those thoughts of inadequacy, rejection, and failure has been through the practices of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness.
You see it’s not that negative thoughts do not enter my mind, it’s just that now I can notice them a lot faster. Way, way, before I go down that rabbit hole of self-destruction.
It has been a wonderful thing to notice my thoughts especially when they’re not so positive.
I now know when negative thoughts are starting to creep in and then to know that I have the tools to stop, reflect and make a decision about how I’m going to proceed.
Feeling overwhelmed as a busy woman is inevitable. But we need to be able to respond to these feelings in a productive way. There are 4-Steps that can help.
I feel like I have so much more control over my life now. Not necessarily over what is happening to me. But I definitely feel like I have more control over my responses to what happens to me. The 4 steps I use on a regular basis are: 1) Be Still; 2) Take Responsibility; 3) Breathe; 4) Be Grateful.
I follow these steps as close to the moment of feeling overwhelmed, frustrated or angry as possible. This could mean before I getting out of bed, in traffic, arguing with my kid, in a meeting, anywhere and anytime I start to feel like I am about to travel down that negative rabbit hole.
No one needs to know that I am practicing these steps.
I use to find a quiet place but now I can do it while in a crowd of people. It takes months and years of practice and self-awareness.
4 Steps Out of Overwhelm:
- Be Still. By learning to be still and by learning to be aware of my thoughts, feelings, and surroundings, I have developed a calm and a knowing in every situation.
- Take Responsibility. I’ve learned to be at ease with myself. To be easy with my failures. To be easy with my disappointments, so that I’m no longer blaming or shaming myself. I accept the failure by acknowledging my responsibility in the failure and acknowledging my capabilities to turn the failure around.
- Breathe. I take a few deep breaths and then I put all of my awareness onto my breath. I do not change it or force it, I just become aware of my breath. I bring my attention to the movement of my breath throughout my body. Noticing the sensation of my breath as it enters my lungs and as it leaves through my nostrils. This simple practice brings me to the present moment where I can now be grateful.
- Be Grateful. Sometimes it’s just being grateful for the ability to notice my breath. Sometimes it’s being grateful to notice that I was starting to travel down that negative path. Sometimes it’s gratitude for the ability to cry and have a reaction and to feel, even if that feeling is frustration.
It can take only a few minutes to redirect your thoughts and actions. Only a few minutes to once again begin to move in the direction of your desires. These steps enable you to become aware of the present moment and clears a path to intuitive action. With consistent practice, the solutions become very clear.
The practices of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness have enabled me to develop this 4 step method of responding to feeling overwhelmed. They have given me the tools to cope with life from a place of confidence.
These steps will not prevent negative things from happening to you but they will shorten the amount of time you stay in a negative place.
Let me know if these steps work for you. Let me know what is your personal practice for getting out of feeling overwhelmed.
Much Love,
CharmaineW
