This video is about Overcoming Overwhelm and it is so so exciting because I am often overwhelmed by everything that’s going on. I found something that works for me and I want to share it with you!
When I’m overwhelmed I feel like I’m inside a tornado. There is so much stuff flying around me and it’s going so fast. I can’t catch it, I can’t see it, and I can’t grasp it! It’s just like ahhhhh!!! Everything’s all over the place and there’s so much going on, and so fast!
A couple of years ago I found this great trick that works for me.
Now Mel Robbins says something about the brain dump where she says if you’re overwhelmed, you have so much stuff to do, just write it all down in the big list! Then go back and highlight the things that are most important.
That did NOT work for me! The list itself made me feel even more overwhelmed! There was this long list of things to do and I didn’t know where everything goes and I couldn’t make heads or tails of anything!
I was at a meeting once with all these wonderful women and somebody said that when she’s feeling overwhelmed she stands up on a chair and looks down at everything that needs to be done. It helps her visualize from a different perspective what it is that needs to happen.
I really like that – it’s one of the things we spoke about in the previous video about changing your perspective.
Here’s what worked for me.
This is totally counter intuitive. You think you need to do more when you’re overwhelmed. That there’s so much to do you need to run and do it all!
The first thing you need to do is close your eyes and take a deep breath…
And just lower everything down. Just let everything fall slowly. It doesn’t have to be flying or running, and it doesn’t have to be swishing! Everything just need to slowly come down, not too fast – really slowly!
After I visualize all the things that are in this storm coming down slowly and I sit myself down in front of a piece of paper.
I draw myself in the middle represented by a circle. Sometimes I write thing in it, like how I’m feeling “Overwhelmed” or “Eye of the storm” or I just make a smiley face for “Hey there! This little me”
I start organizing it by category (or ‘hat’):
Mother, wife, daughter, friend, work… sometimes I’ll putdown all my clients and all the things that I need to do for work.
After I break it down into the different categories of all the different hats I wear, I pull out lists and sublists from each category.
It ends up looking a little bit like a burst.
For example, with my children.
As a mother of six, I want to take each one of my kids and give them what they need. and I feel like it’s very difficult to just sit a kid down and say “what do you need from me?” It always doesn’t come out right and it ends up adding to the chaos.
I’ll pull out every single one of the kids names and I’ll sit down and really meditate on what it is that I think they need right now. For one of my kids it could be special time with with me, while for another kid, all the need is new shoes! That’s all! They just need their stuff taken care of!
I really feel like just taking those couple of minutes of thinking about each child by myself gives me that clarity. I don’t need anybody else to tell me what they need. I can just know by listening to my intuition what it is that each kid needs from me and what it is that I need to pay more attention to.
Another example is under the category “wife.”
I’m helping my husband publish his Haggadah and is the most amazing and wonderful thing that I’ve ever seen. I’m really excited about his work and because I’m a graphic designerI have the tools that he needs for me to help him. It really is high priority for me to do that for him. By writing it down I make sure he is seen amongst the chaos of the urgent things that seem to be crowding it.
A really important category that I think everybody should have on their burst is self-care / self-love.
What it is that you need in order for you to grow? In order for you to flourish?
I make a list of what things I need in this stage in my life. I’ll have things like “reflexology, massage, drink enough water, go for a walk, visit a friend…
I realized that taking a nap is really important for me during high stress times. As well as going to yoga – It is something that really helps me recharge! Everyone is unique. What works for someone else may not be the exact thing you need, so making your own list is really important so that you can quickly tap into it when you feel you need it.
Another thing I like to do is create one of the categories as “house” or “home”.
Under this category I have: clean, declutter, design, and up-keep.
You know those things that always have to be fixed you never really get to it because it’s just so low at the bottom of the list? It’s in your head of things that have to be done but because it’s not urgent then it just never gets done!? This makes sure you see it visually and gives you the feeling that you are responsible. You haven’t forgotten, and it will get done at the right time!
As counterproductive as it feels it is actually slowing down the speed of the storm
This system is letting you think about what is priority to YOU in YOUR life!
You lower the levels of stress by seeing everything and regaining control of the situation because you’re able to really see what it is that you need to do!
This system helps me align to the core values and to the things that are important to me, to the priorities that I want to put in my life.
I really find this to be very very helpful so I am sharing it with you. I hope this helps. I look forward to hearing if you tried it and if it worked for you.
I am on Facebook and Instagram so you can message me there!
Love from Israel,
Rebbetzin Bat-Chen Grossman.