Facing the Overwhelm
It hit me today. Like a ton of bricks. At first, I couldn’t figure out why I was on the brink of tears driving my son to the doctor this afternoon. When I stopped to think about this week, worry started choking me. I could finally understand where these feelings sourced themselves. My husband is out of work for the next few months, we got hit with large and unexpected financial issues this week, sick kids, and a handful of hard conversations in our businesses. It’s left my husband and I very overwhelmed and crawling into bed late at night with few words exchanged.
I don’t know how you handle stress, but I work. I deep clean the crap out of my house. I reorganize drawers and closets. I donate things to Goodwill like it’s nobody’s business. I don’t even realize I’m stressed until half of my belongings are hanging on the racks and shelves of the nearest Goodwill. I do everything else but feel; I can’t let myself feel or I’ll reveal my weakness.
Does anyone else feel like this is a New Year’s thing? You set the intentions, you make the plans, you feel inspired and then you are immediately challenged and stretched by life. The excuses are a lot easier to see than the solutions. You begin to question whether or not you can move forward or if it’s even worth trying.
DID YOU KNOW THAT BEING OVERWHELMED IS A CHOICE?
I remember the first time my friend told me that. It was almost like someone slapped me across the face to bring me back into a state of control. I get to decide to be overwhelmed or not. I get to choose. We all face overwhelming things on a day to day basis. If you avoid your feelings, you’ll find yourself numbing just like I did with my reorganization habit this week.
Here’s a few of the ways I chose my way out of overwhelm this week:
I felt my feelings. I faced them head on and felt them. I cried, I called a friend, I took a break, said some prayers, and went on a few long walks.
I spoke to my feelings rather than listening to them. I turned toward this overwhelming situation, looked it in the face, and told it how much power I was giving it – NONE. It’s empowering. Try it!
I made a decision. I took the next step I needed to take and chose to face things one at a time. Life won’t just piece itself back together on itself. It won’t all workout overnight. Instead of allowing these overwhelming things to rule me, I let them fuel me back into my purpose.
EVERY OBSTACLE CAN EITHER BE AN EXCUSE TO STOP OR A REASON TO KEEP GOING. WHAT WILL YOU CHOOSE?
Written by Tori Hein