Introduction
Overwhelm all around us. Life has become truly overwhelming for most of us. To-Do list, books, study/personal development, freebies, inbox, social media, mobile apps, etc. Everything is just so overwhelming. You have signed up for courses you haven’t completed, joined Telegram/WhatsApp groups you hardly check, you install every app but takes you a month to open the app.
How do you feel thinking about all these things? The truth is intention and action are two different things. All those apps you have installed, those courses you enrolled in, the groups you joined. You had the intention to learn from them, but the action is not there. We live in a world of more, where everything is about more. Leaving us all in a state of overwhelm.
Overwhelm
Overwhelm is a state of being beset by intense emotion that is difficult to manage. It can affect your ability to think and act rationally. It could also prevent you from performing daily tasks. Overwhelm may be caused by stress, traumatic life experiences, relationship issues, and much more. Overwhelm is something that literally affects everyone. It is the same everywhere and we are not immune to it.
The more overwhelmed you feel the lesser the chance of connecting with yourself. Overwhelm disconnects you from everything and affects your relationship with Allah, making life’s struggle even more difficult for you. Because we want to solve every problem ourself instead of turning to the ultimate source of peace and all solution. Feeling overwhelmed easily is often one of the most common anxiety symptoms. Anxiety itself is an overwhelming and powerful emotion, anxiety can also weaken your stress coping ability, making it easier to feel overwhelmed.
Some Causes of Overwhelm
There are so many things that can contribute to that feeling of overwhelm. Please look into them and work on them so that you can lead a better and fruitful life.
1. Too much on your plate
It started out with a few things, but things just kept piling on and on – and suddenly there was more than you can handle. The good news is that you can take them off your plate, too. Yes, it sucks having to tell someone you can no longer do something, but that’s how we learn right? Next time, we won’t overcommit ourselves. Learn to say no, so you can say yes to the things you actually want to do. This is also why people suggest not trying to change too many habits and create too many goals at the same time because it can quickly all feel like too much. But what if you did one thing at a time? Wouldn’t it be more manageable and realistic?
2. Constant Noise & Notifications
If you’re constantly looking at your phone and/or checking notifications, you never have time to clear your head – which means your head is always busy. Always filled with a bunch of thoughts and unproductive noise. It feels like everything is important and needs your attention now, but you need to really ask yourself: Do you really need to reply to that text message or email right now? Can it wait? Can you set certain times of the day when you check for notifications (so you’re not pressing the power or home button every 5 seconds)?
For me, whenever I’m doing something that doesn’t require any Internet or screen time, I hide my phone (even if it’s just behind my laptop). Out of sight, out of mind. You’d be surprised at the difference this can make in your life just by putting your phone out of your sight. Also, turn off your notifications! Else you’ll end up checking your Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, email inbox, or whatever else you frequently go to. But when you check these platforms in your free time you won’t be missing out on anything.
3. Overcommitting yourSelf
I understand that you want to make everyone else happy and you can’t stand the thought of someone not liking you. I was once a huge people pleaser too, and sometimes it can be hard to say no. But what happens when you say yes to everyone and everything? You leave no room for yourself. When was the last time you truly did something just for yourself? …where you felt free to do whatever you wanted without having to think about everyone else?
So, don’t overcommit yourself. If you’re tired of feeling overwhelmed, you have to learn to stop putting so many things on your plate. Ask yourself what your top priorities are (and your top priorities can always change). But let’s be honest, we can not have 50 different top priorities. You can do anything, but not everything all at once.
4. Expecting yourself to be perfect
Perfectionism will cause you to think that nothing you do will ever be good enough, which obviously leads to overwhelm – because you’re constantly trying to be more, do more, have more, etc. It’s a pretty vicious cycle. One thing to remember is that perfectionism does not exist, and people don’t expect you to be perfect. And if there are people who do expect you to be perfect? Remember that they aren’t perfect themselves.
Let the perfectionism go. I’ve never actively called myself a perfectionist, but I definitely acted like one. Once I started letting go of the idea of “needing to have it all together”, I was able to get a lot more done. Like, a lot more and feel less anxiety as a result.
5. You lack self-awareness
Self-awareness is KEY. If you’re lacking self-awareness, you’re going to constantly push yourself over the edge. Boundaries with other people? You won’t have any boundaries with yourself, which will lead to you overcommitting and setting unrealistic expectations – which will later on lead to more guilt, anxiety, and send you in a downward spiral.
Ask yourself WHY this is important. If you’re doing things just for the sake of doing things, you’re going to feel unfulfilled and empty. Lately, I’ve started journaling on my why a lot more – which has helped me do things with a lot more purpose and a lot less anxiety and overwhelm. Because I know what I’m working towards, so it doesn’t feel like I’m just trying to fill empty space. Having clarity and doing things with purpose will make your life 10000x better.
These causes of overwhelm above were from Molly Ho Studio
Do Less Consistently
It is time to do things differently. If you constantly wanting to do more is overwhelming you then you have to stop and think. Because in our desire to do more we can lose our way, and it affects all areas of our lives. Everyone keeps telling us and expecting us to do more and be more. I need you to break out of that toxic circle. Because Slow is the new fast. Real productivity is not about doing more, working harder, or doing any task more efficiently. Rather, real productivity is about ruthlessly identifying what’s important, protecting your valuable time for those tasks, and doing them as efficiently as possible.
When you start to do less but consistently you begin to experience small wins. And as you experience these small wins it motivates you to do better, focussing on the process. When you reduce your burden you will feel lighter and be able to breathe more easily. Your mind needs rest and free space, regularly, to function at its best. But unfortunately, way too many people are still focused on quantity over quality. They focus too much on the number of tasks they accomplish and the number of hours they work (quantity) instead of looking at the actual value they produce in a given day (quality).
Conclusion
The objective is to do less, not more, but achieve more because of the choices you make. Don’t fall into the trap of keeping yourself as busy as possible in order to feel good and feel productive. Rather, always focus on simplifying, reducing, and eliminating. Keep your focus on that what’s truly important, which are often just a few tasks, activities, or projects. That’s how you become highly productive and achieve better results at a faster pace.
WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU in the comment box below. I hope you found this beneficial.