“If you continually get overwhelmed over and over again it’s because you’re not aware of your capacity and you push past it [by not addressing it].  Procrastination takes part of your capacity (because you’re thinking about it over and over again) until it’s done,” Rob Dyrdek.  This is a good follow up to yesterday’s piece about emotion.  Overwhelm is an emotion we choose as well because we always have the option to address the work now and the more we put it off, the longer it hangs over our heads.  Adress the issue now so you don’t waste time and capacity thinking about what still needs to be done.  The constant “needing” to do something will always sit with us until the activity is done.  We don’t need to get hung up on waiting for something, for the right time.  If we just act now we clear up space for the future.  It’s our job to manage our overwhelm and our feelings and to appreciate the feelings of a barometer of what we actually need to do.  Feelings are always a good compass.

We can’t allow ourselves to get so distracted by what we have to do that we don’t actually do anything. We can’t lie under the guise that we can do it all—I mean, we can but that doesn’t mean it will all get done to its fullest potential or to the capacity where it can fulfill its purpose.  Sometimes we simply have to sit there and do a hard look at what is really important in our lives and make the decision about what needs to be addressed—and then we have to get to work.  It really is that simple.  I know that isn’t always easy because we’ve operated under the misconception of what our real priorities are for so long that shifting them to something that steers us toward our goals feels uncomfortable.  But when we strip away the unnecessary, the distractions, when we pause even for just a little while, the noise begins to quiet.  The dust begins to settle and suddenly there is some clarity.  We are all capable of great things and so many of us don’t operate on that level simply because we are clouded with pushing things off or the fear of starting.  Don’t let life become a daunting chunk of “have-to’s” or “I wish I did” or even focusing on the wrong thing.

It may seem like we don’t have time for the things we want to do—hell it sometimes feels like we don’t have time for the things we need to do—but when we settle and discover what truly needs our attention, suddenly there is an abundance of time.  There is this long now that stretches before us and suddenly the doing doesn’t even feel like work.  It feels like an aligned series of steps.  Things are drawn to us and we reflect light, we share our talents, our goals, and we fulfill our purpose.  We can only do that if we put aside that which doesn’t serve and we start addressing what needs our attention.  That is the secret to eliminating overwhelm: get rid of what doesn’t need attention.  Don’t create a list of things that don’t need to be done simply because someone tells us it’s important.  If it has no value, then it is something we can consider taking off your list.  When we start to get some clarity, the path starts to open up and the steps become evident.  Don’t push past the feelings: start to ask if it’s something that really needs our attention.  Break the habit of needing to do anything and step into what aligns.  That’s when the distraction goes away and the steps become clear.