Being Overwhelmed Doesn’t Need to be A Way of Life, Anymore
Despite books and articles published every day on busyness, no one can steal our attention. Maybe the real question is have we been too complacent with who gets our attention?
Why don’t many of us protect and shield our attention just as much as our material things? No one wants to have their stuff stolen so why is being overwhelmed getting so much attention?
We are constantly being told that we are overwhelmed and that we need to slow down. But are we really?
What if this is an opportunity to reframe and focus our attention on what matters most?
What if we don’t have too much to do when we start looking at the root of why we are doing so much?
What If There Is No Reason for Being Overwhelmed?
What is it that we believe that we must get done and why do we want to pretend that we are superheroes or characters in someone’s cartoons? What do we get when we check everything off the list apart from being overwhelmed by the thought that it all starts again tomorrow?
When we try to do it all, we set ourselves up to being overwhelmed by it all. It becomes a never-ending cycle of lists and a need to accomplish and be productive.
Maybe when we feel overwhelmed, we can take a breath and question why we are feeling this way and what actually needs to be achieved? How often do we hit the pause or neutral button when we feel we are on overdrive?
When we discover our own wonder and get in harmony with our environment, we no longer need to prove anything; unless we choose to. We can shift how we choose to respond to situations and people. We can choose who gets our precious attention, and who doesn’t. We get to decide what is urgent and what can be marinated slowly.
Life is Beautiful and Ours to Navigate
On the other side of stress is simplicity and a sense of ease that many secretly desire. What if we take the blank canvass and explore what’s possible?
When we focus on our energy, motivation, and joie de vivre, we align to our flow. We understand that a challenge or a struggle can be a trap of despondency for us to fall into when events don’t go as planned. Any block of resistance can be seen as a reality check for us to realize that it might be healthier to extract our worries and become aware of our limitations, moving in a direction that honors who we are.
Consider the insight of author Howard Thurman, who wrote, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”