Overwhelm and What's Possible
Have you ever seen a video of someone spinning multiple plates on sticks? They race back and forth trying to keep them all moving at the required velocity so they don't fall and break. For myself, the feeling of overwhelm has always been similar, including circus music and all.
However there is nothing funny about the affects of overwhelm on our psyche and body. I myself went through a period in my life where I worked 600 hours of overtime in a period of 6 months, and by the end of it I was an absolute mess.
I would wake up in the AM at 5:00, and work for a bit before I left for my hour commute, I'd then run from meeting to meeting all day collecting things that needed to be done. I'd finally get to work on the projects once everyone left for the day, or after my hour commute back home when I could work without interruption. There were many nights I stayed up until 11:00 working only to turn around and do the whole thing again the next day. Weekends were great because I could get so much done without adding the commute in. As you can imagine my friendships and family were put on the back burner.
At the end of the 6 months I was starting to schedule out meeting rooms and hours of time so I could hide away and work while also having a good cry without people constantly asking me what was wrong. I was cracking up. My fiancé finally put his foot down and told me that I needed to start working less hours because we were getting married in 6 months and he didn't want to see the planning of our wedding become "one more thing" that needed to get done. He kinda wanted me to have some fun with it.
Message received.
Now that it's many years later and I've had some time to reflect on this period in my life, I've come away with some insights of what might be helpful to others who find themselves in this situation.
If the parameters for your definition of success depend predominantly on pleasing everyone around you but yourself, remember that you have no control over what other people think or do. Do your best and be proud of yourself, draw boundaries that will support living a healthy life, and find some joy in what you do. If you can't make that happen then start thinking about what is next.
Envision the life you want. What would your ideal day look like? Fully flush it out with the time you'd wake up, the feeling you'd have at the end of your day, the exercise you'd do, the food you'd eat, and things you would spend your time doing. It doesn't matter if you can't see what the career will be, just focus first on how you want to feel while you're engaged in work activities.
I did this exact exercise (#2) for myself, and though the results didn't manifest immediately, it helped me to start taking notice of new opportunities that aligned with this vision. In times of choice, it gave me a compass on what direction to go because I could recognize aspects of what I wanted, and three years later I'm living that vision as a reality.
Honing my vision, really feeling, seeing, mentally experiencing the outcomes of what I wanted lead me to become a personal coach. My husband and I are now digital nomads, traveling the world because we can do our work from anywhere. The goal I have now is to make connections with and inspire other women who are ready to create this for themselves by first finding the hidden opportunities available to them in their daily choices, and then courageously stepping forward to see what's possible.
If you are ready to take steps to move forward and find alignment with your dreams, I would be honored to be a part of your journey. For a free consultation, contact me at jennifer@dailychoices.me, or schedule a consultation on my website at www.dailychoices.life.
