Stay out of Overwhelm: Learn to Press "Pause"

One of the most powerful things we can do to maximize our
effectiveness, minimize our overwhelm, and be more successful is
to know when it is to our benefit to actually do less. We truly can't
do it all and we will virtually never get it perfect.

Getting fixated on "fitting it all in" or not knowing when we've done
enough (because we get stuck in that nonproductive idea of trying
to make it perfect) can be a trap that leads to overwhelm, stress,
feeling like we can't succeed, and often, resorting to food or some
other unhelpful strategy for comfort or "relief."

Multi-tasking has a way of making us feel super-efficient, but what
it usually does is keep us from being truly focused on what it is we
are doing. When we multi-task, we lose our ability to be mindful
and we are less aware. This also contributes to stress, overload,
and the bad habits we turn to to "cope."

When we are busy, when we are jumping from one thing to
another (or even doing three things at a time), we can become so
used to that rhythm that we aren't even aware of the stress or the
overwhelm that is building. When we spend every waking moment
chasing our day, just doing what "has to" be done, there isn't any
room to be proactive and there probably isn't enough room for
self-care.

Deliberately doing less, or purposefully working to reduce stress,
requires creating enough time to pause and to become aware of
all that is going on. It's important to learn to take a step back in
order to gain perspective and to be able to realize when we are in
overwhelm. The next step is creating a piece of quiet time where
you can make a decision about how to move forward.

You may benefit from practicing this act of pausing. Challenge
yourself to sit quietly for 3-5 minutes each day. Sit and do
NOTHING. Close your eyes, stare at the ceiling, watch your fish in
your aquarium. Move your mind gently away from the list of things
to do or the grocery list. Practice pausing.

You may find that this act of completely stopping, even for such a
short time, is incredibly difficult. You might even tell yourself that
this is one of those activities you can benefit from by just imagining
yourself doing it. Trust me--it's not true. The more you resist it,
the more you probably need the practice.




Melissa McCreery, Ph.D. is a psychologist, certified life coach, founder of Enduring Change Coaching, and creator of the Emotional Eating Toolbox™ (http://www.emotionaleatingtoolbox.com).