By Leo Babauta
I speak to dozens of individuals each month — Zen Habits readers, teaching shoppers and Fearless Dwelling Academy members — who wrestle with a sense of overwhelm from the entire issues on their plates.
Overwhelm from duties, messages, and extra is totally regular. It’s based mostly on a worry that we are able to’t deal with all the things coming our method. That we’re going to fail at juggling all of those balls, and drop them, and be a failure. It’s a worry of inadequacy, that reveals up as anxiousness.
So what can we do with that worry? What we are able to notice is that it’s simply an power, current in our our bodies. We have now all types of power: pleasure, love, gratitude, optimism, disappointment, damage, grief, anger, energy, and extra.
These sorts of energies in our our bodies have a couple of properties we are able to discover from observing:
- They’re non permanent. Energies shift all through the day, relying on what we’re happening, how a lot sleep we bought, how individuals are appearing in the direction of us, how we’re doing with our actions and intentions, and so forth.
- We create them. It’d seem to be the power of, say, anger, is attributable to how another person acted … however we create the power of anger as a response to the power of damage … which we create due to how we interpret their actions. That doesn’t imply it’s a “dangerous” interpretation, however the level is that we’re the creators of our power.
- We will shift them. If we’re the creators of the power, that’s excellent news, as a result of we are able to then create no matter we would like. Have you ever ever finished gratitude observe? It’s a extremely easy observe of reminding your self of what you’re grateful for in your life. Doing this may rework no matter unhappy or complaining power you presently have, into gratitude and contentment. That reveals that it’s attainable to shift issues deliberately, with observe.
So if we are able to shift our power, how can we cope with the power of overwhelm? There’s not one strategy to cope with it, however I’m going to recommend a robust observe.
- Get current to the power of overwhelm, in your physique. Discover that you simply’re feeling overwhelmed. You may discover since you’re both avoiding, or dashing to get all the things finished. You’re feeling anxious about what number of issues there are. Simply pause, and see how the power of overwhelm feels in your physique. The place is it positioned? In your chest? What does it really feel like? Get curious.
- Play with the power. The power of overwhelm is simply power — it could really feel like worry, anxiousness, panic … however we are able to additionally really feel it as pleasure, journey, creativity. These are all simply labels. How are you going to use the power to generate braveness? To make you rise up and dance? To gentle a hearth underneath your self? Play with it, as if it have been a hearth you might use creatively to no matter objective you’d like.
On this method, the overwhelm doesn’t turn into a factor that controls us, however somewhat is one thing we are able to really feel, love, and use nevertheless we like. It turns into the clay for our inventive act.
I notice this all may sound a bit bizarre to some folks, however I invite you to not dismiss it, since you’ll be lacking out on a robust and delightful strategy to work with one thing that reveals up for you often.
You get overwhelmed since you care. Could you by no means cease caring.