Just Stop. How to be self -aware and combat burnout
When you began to share your story about how something has forever changed you, I realized that there is a chronic problem that will surround you in an unexpected way. Suddenly, you’ll begin to feel like you can’t ever revert to the ‘you that you once were’.
Today, friends, I’m there.
I wanted to share this thought with you today because I realized it’s a struggle point for me and that it might be one for you too.
The last week or so has left me feeling unsettled and a bit out of control and today I realized that part of that feeling of being out of control was me not allowing myself to sit in that emotion and mull it over. I wasn’t creating white space to solve it because I was telling myself the lie that since I help other women to feel MORE in control of their lives, that I should no longer ever feel out of control in mine.
I know this isn’t the truth and yet I let it consume and dictate to me anyhow.
Over the past few weeks, an activity that I love doing has been a bit more consuming than it has been. Needs that need to be met at home and school have increased as the school year has gotten underway and my business has been growing steadily with new organizing clients that fill more and more days on my calendars. Couple this with some struggles with two of our kiddos and concerns for extended family members and kids that I coach and BAM – insta-overwhelm is standing on my doorstop forcing it’s way inside.
Alone, many of these items are not ones that would cause me to want to crawl back into bed but together they can shut me down and make me feel like not moving. When I reach a place of overwhelm, I often say I just need the world to stop moving for a day so I can “catch up”.
But today, on my drive into school with the kids, God shared with my heart that I just need to breath. Being self-aware of where I am in this moment and facing it with a plan and a calm mind are the steps that will take me past this. So, I had to tell myself that I don’t need to pretend to be gathered when I am not.
My goal is to help women to step outside of chaos and into a life they love, but that life won’t come without these setbacks and being aware of your emotions and feelings when you reach that point of overwhelm or burnout needs to be not only addressed but contemplated and accepted.
Here’s the thing, I can’t shake out of this feeling through pure grit and denial.
I need to sit back, examine it’s origins, settle into it and accept that this is what is filling my mind and soul at this moment and then devise a plan to move past it.
For me, that plan often begins with a clean space to clear visual clutter.
Next, I tackle a brain dump and empty all my thoughts on to a paper in no organized fashion
Then I re-arrange those into assumed priority. (I say assumed because not everything that is important is also a priority)
Next, I note anything that is keeping me from accomplishing that task. Things like needing to call someone, get more info or purchase something else.
Lastly, I begin to work through the list and ask for help where I can get it. For me, that is getting my kids or husband to help with school volunteer projects or with housework or shopping trips.
When I slow down and recognize where my emotions are trying to take me, I can pause and re-direct and then come up with a more intentional game plan that reclaims control and slows it all down for just a bit.
If you have those days that just feel ‘off’ and your heart feels anxious, you might need to sit back in a quiet space and settle into self-awareness of why. If you find yourself snapping easily or being annoyed by family, friends or complete strangers then there is a good chance you are feeling burned out, overextended and stressed.
I am here to tell you this: It’s ok.
Take a break. Gather your thoughts. Write in a journal or make a brain dump list. Those tasks that are floating around your brain are distracting you from living in the now and accomplishing other things. They are mental clutter and they are causing you the same anxiety that physical clutter causes, even if you don’t realize it.
It took me a few days to realize I was hiding from this feeling, but now that I have accepted it and agreed with it I can release it and recover from the out of control feeling that has left my heart beating a little too fast.
I want you to find that same acceptance if you’re standing in this place too. Coming together as women to say “ I don’t have it all together all the time” is not only empowering to you but to a generation that is being told we need to be perfect and accomplished and well-rounded in both personal and business life. But I argue that we can choose to slow down, give some of it up or go at our own pace. The invisible race we run is a false sense of ‘arriving’. The finish line will always move.
With all my heart, I know that together, we’ve got this.
