How to NOT Get Overwhelmed

Have you heard that the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else? Here’s my attempt #986 to learn something. Might as well teach it and see if more of it sticks. The something is the lesson of not getting overwhelmed about all there is to do.

Wait, maybe my husband should teach this one. He walks me through it often, reminding me of what I say to others. He’ll even gently ask “What would you tell someone if they sent you an email?” That helps me breathe, and is often all I need to move on.

In a few days I’m leaving on a week-long trip. There are just a *few* things to do before then. When we return, we’ll begin the process of moving to a new city, after living in the same house for twelve years. Meanwhile there are four girls to homeschool and a busy Plexus business to run. Trust me when I say that overwhelm is a familiar companion of mine, although I’m moving towards a breakup.

The thing is, when we have a project looming, it can be the domino that falls over in our head, causing a chain reaction of anxious thoughts.

But what if we learned to relish the challenge, rather than dreading the project?

It’s a subtle shift in perspective. Relishing the challenge creates feelings of excitement and creativity. Dreading the project feels draggy and anxious.

How much life do we waste worrying and fretting and dreading, when the thing we’re upset about IS GOING TO GET DONE? It’s all going to happen, it’s going to work out, and we probably won’t even remember it by next week. Meanwhile we caused toxic chemical secretions in our body because we took things out of context and created anxiety.

Why would we do that? Because, for some of us, anxiety is what feels normal.

Even when everything is handled and things are progressing, we create anxiety so we can feel at home.

This pattern of anxiety may have begun in childhood or later in life. The question: Is this serving me well in my life now?

What are some practical ways to reset your thinking and remove the anxiety?

• Prayer
• Reading God’s Word and speaking it out loud
• Journaling
• Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) (A physical healing tool with a scientific basis)
• Spoken positive affirmations
• Talking with a support person who is positive
• Reading or listening to inspiring materials
• Changing your scenery/location

The good news is that practice makes perfect, and renewing your mind is cumulative. That means that by attempt #987 you’ll be able to more quickly move from overwhelm to calm.

What helps you NOT get overwhelmed? Please share…