"To
think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing.” ~ Eva Young
Good Morning!
When
was the last time you felt truly overwhelmed?
Maybe it was last week, or last month, or maybe it is right now, this
very minute. Have your “to-dos” piled up
so high that they are robbing the joy from your days and taking the
skip from
your step?
When
we are overwhelmed, we can often trace the feeling to one of four
sources:
1.
When
we fail to allow enough time for the unexpected, tasks pile up and all
of a
sudden, we find ourselves anxious or struggling to stay above water.
2.
There
is some specific “to do” that you just don’t like doing. That single to-do is
ignored more than any
others, until it gets to a point of crisis, and must be dealt with.
3. The
project seems insurmountable – since we don’t know where to start, we
just don’t
start.
4. Like
today’s quote, we confuse planning with doing, and spend too long in
the
planning phase and not enough time in the action phase.
Regardless
of the source of your overwhelmed feelings, the quickest way to release
them is
through action. Spending
even five
concentrated minutes on a task helps us to feel we have control over
the “to-do”
versus it controlling us.
Your
Turn: Make
a list of the things that are
overwhelming to you right now. Choose
one to work with this week. Each
day,
set your timer for at least five minutes and take focused action. Notice how the action
begins to make the
anxious and overwhelmed feelings dissolve.
Today’s
Affirmation: I
do not succumb to
feelings of being overwhelmed. Instead,
I am inspired to take action.