I like to do what I call a little “morning admin” in the morning when I first get to work. I take a look at my calendar, quickly scan my email for any pressing issues and then feel so overwhelmed with everything I need to do so I decide to catch up on social media and the news before I get started. I might get a Diet Coke, (Don’t judge. You like your coffee hot but I like mine cold.) clean off my desk and quickly text 10 different friends about random tidbits they don’t really care about. It’s all just a little personal admin to get the day started.
But let’s be honest, really I do this to put off starting the day and trying to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Because you know what helps when you feel overwhelmed about having too much to do? WASTING TIME DOING NOTHING ON MY TO DO LIST.
I’m not saying there is anything wrong with checking social media or drinking Diet Coke before 9:00am because I grew 2 humans in my body at one time doing this so it’s totally works! But why do I think wasting time is the best answer to overwhelm?
The answer is science. Your brain is wired to always try to feel good and overwhelm feels a lot less good than Instagram and Diet Coke.
You literally get a dopamine hit from these things so of course you are going to put off starting your day.
But what really is overwhelm? Overwhelm is a feeling, a vibration in your body, and it can’t actually harm you. It’s maybe not the best feeling you could have, but it’s just s feeling.
Imagine what your day would be like if you were willing to just feel overwhelmed and still get right to work.
So often we spend way more time trying to avoid our feelings than just actually feeling them and then moving on.
So tomorrow when you sit down and feel overwhelmed, get out of your head and into your body and really feel it. Take five minutes and try to describe what it feels like as if you were telling an alien that has no concept of emotions. The more descriptive the better.
The feeling will eventually pass and your will feel something else, but for science’s sake, just try actually feeling overwhelmed for a bit and let me know how it goes.
If you are struggling to feel your emotions, sign up for a free mini session with me and let’s get you feeling all your feelings. Sign up here.
It’s mind blowing what you can accomplish when you are willing to feel negative emotions.
