May 18, 2021 — May, oh May, oh my!!! Are you feeling it, too? I have multiple energy leaks right now, and most of them have to do with kids and it being May: we have a high school senior about to graduate after spending a YEAR of schooling online…(how will he do at a huge school like Purdue??). I have a high school sophomore that now has a job at Chili’s, and gets home late late, and has a full summer of camp counseloring. I have a 21-year old that is only home for a few weeks until he heads to DC for an internship studying sustainable sourcing in procurement practices. (He’s my movie buddy and our “to watch” list is long!)
As for me, household-wise, I am looking at organizing my kitchen and pantry as an avenue to improving our health and enjoyment of food preparation and being together (no pressure).
And business-wise, I am dialing into how I can best serve my clients and “fans” with helpful, fun, and down-right worthwhile content, including an awesome book/audiobook (soon to come out OFFICIALLY on Amazon Kindle! yay!). (Finally!) Again, no pressure!
And, personal-development-wise, I’m finding so many new amazing authors and inspirers like Rachel Rodgers and her life-changing work We Should All Be Millionaires that I could spend all day every day soaking in that goodness!
I could go on, but I’ll pause before we are all triggered into overwhelm-oblivion. (Too late?)
At this point, I pointedly invite you to view overwhelm as “an abundance of information and data” and we simply must discern which info and/or data is more important at the given moment, and then we can act on it. Or file away for future reference. It must get put in its place for the time being. And we won’t call it the “the perfect place” because again: the PRESSURE.
Can you do that with me? I know you can. We can!
What do we do when a tire is overfilled with air so tightly that we fear one tiny breeze will cause it to BLOW? We have to release the pressure through the valve. We must press gently but firmly on the valve and let a small bit of air out until the tire or tube is more comfortable. That is actually doing the tire a favor, because when it’s overfilled…it may EXPLODE. (Any breast-feeding mamas out there getting flashbacks of when your milk came in??? Oh my…I will refrain from digressing to leaky breast talk!)
Enter May. The busy-crazy-busy of May and all its “fun” surrounding end of the school year, thoughts about summer, and all that. And we are likely approaching this summer as a “catch-up summer” because, you know, 2020…
We absolutely do NOT want the tire to explode, because then it takes way more effort to have to replace the tire/tube when it gets completely destroyed from that catastrophic event.
How can you release enough pressure during overwhelm to be able to move forward again? For me, I have to stand up, walk away and get fresh air, then tidy up my area. I have stuff everywhere, on my desk, and my desktop, on my phone, and on the floor. Putting things away, even into small bins, invites the energy to resettle and regroup in such a way that invites forward motion. It dilutes the mud and washes away that sticky stuckness.
Enter: PINK STICKY NOTES. Practical. Powerful. Plentiful. (ohhhhh alliteration, how I love you!)
It seems that Monday mornings are the perfect storm of “the whole week in front of me” and “holy crap, where do I even start?” Yesterday, I got down to the basic basics to fight the overwhelm.
AND IT WORKED. SO WELL.
When you write 2-3 things on ONE STICKY note, you have instant clarity. And, even better, a NON-MOVING target!! It will stay there for you, so set a timer, and DO THAT THING. And then the next. (cross off the item with a big fat Sharpie, too, and CELEBRATE how awesome that feels!!!) Use The CALM Method, FYI.
Feeling stuck is just a feeling. You can create openness with order. You can invite room to breathe. Then you have mental bandwidth to prioritize. Because when something is identified as more important and/or urgent, you can move forward on that item, and that thing only!
And if you can’t complete it, what is ONE SMALL THING you can do? One breadcrumb. Do the tiniest thing, written on your sticky note. You will get that wheel slowly turning again. And don’t forget to breathe…
When you feel lost, stuck, overwhelmed, then it’s time to reach out!! I invite you to check out the Find FOCUS and Get CALM Together Membership…try it for a week and you might find yourself slaying that list and having a blast, too! The world is your oyster!!
Thanks for reading! You complete me:)
