Overwhelm is a choice.

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The first time I heard this, it infuriated me. What do you mean, overwhelm is a choice?

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There are moments where life comes on hard and fast and seems like there is a million and one things that need your attention now.

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It didn’t help that the person who delivered this message wore a deceitfully saccharine smile, as if he knew what kind of response it would elicit.

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And it is a response, overwhelm. Stress, anxiety, anger… all emotional responses to the avalanche of All The Things thundering through your head.

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Once I realized this, I realized that (annoyingly) the guy was right. Overwhelm is a choice. We get to choose how we react when life gets real, well, life-y.

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When the tidal wave of to-dos and Things That Need Attention comes roaring in, finding solid ground can be found in three simple steps:

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1. Slow down. The antidote to overwhelm isn’t to try to do more things faster— that’s a recipe for disaster. Instead, the first step is simply noticing what the source of the anxiety is.
2. Evaluate. Notice the 47 tabs open in your brain and evaluate which ones are something you can do something about and which ones are not yours to carry. Control what you can control, and let go of the rest.
3. Write it down. There’s something profoundly therapeutic about pen on paper, getting the things out of your head and into visual format. Make a list, break each item down into the smallest possible tasks, and evaluate what you keep, what you can delegate, and what you need to do, and in what order.

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Overwhelm is a choice. We don’t need to be monks in order to bring peace into our daily lives. Simply slowing down, noticing, and then taking incremental steps can create huge shifts— no frazzle required.
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Big hugs,

Quote I'm pondering

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.” — Viktor Frankl

Photo of the week

My family is required to stop and smell them daily, along with any guest that pops over.

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Have a photo you love? Send it to howdy@karagracemuzia.com for a chance to be featured!

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