The Other Side of Overwhelm
Today I want to introduce you to Overwhelm by its other name — Invitation.
I don’t know if it’s just that time of year, but in this past week so many people have expressed that they're overwhelmed.
What causes you to feel overwhelm?
One of my daughters, at the end of her very first day at school, had an overwhelming feeling she wasn't as smart as she 'should' be, crying, "Mum, I don't know how to read!"
My first day of work in a bank at 17 felt overwhelming. "Can I do this?" So much to learn and remember.
And I remember years ago, expanding business across two states.
We'd secured a new contract with an international company and recruited additional staff to ensure we could deliver on our commitment.
Everything was in place, looking good!
Then, within a week of one another, managers in BOTH states resigned.
I can still remember that feeling of overwhelm.
"How on earth can we manage all of this?"
♡
The traditional meaning of overwhelm includes 'to turn a vessel upside down'.
And I find that so interesting.
Because when a vessel is turned upside down, the side that's familiar to us moves out of sight.
And in its place, the underside is revealed.
A part that's always been there, but perhaps has never been seen or considered.
I think there's a golden key in that.
Something really interesting came up in our Great Minds Executive Mastermind yesterday.
What if overwhelm is actually a moment of realisation, rather than a state we have to remain in?
A moment when we're being invited to see something in ourselves that we've never had reason to recognise before.
Think about it.
We look at the amount of work and the time available, and decide the two don't match.
We look at the demands being placed on us and question whether we have what it takes.
Or we're experiencing such powerful emotions that we wonder whether we can hold ourselves together.
And in that moment, we feel overwhelmed.
But here's what I'm beginning to see.
Perhaps it's not always what we're facing that overwhelms us, but what we believe about our capacity to deal with it.
♡
When we feel overwhelmed, it's so easy to become consumed by the enormity of what's in front of us.
Our thinking narrows.
Our emotions intensify.
And suddenly, we're in survival mode.
But what if that initial feeling of overwhelm is our invitation to notice something?
Rather than immediately accepting the thought, "I can't handle this," what if we become curious?
What if I have more available in me than I'm currently recognising?
What would it look like to handle this in a way I've never done before?
(I find pen and paper very helpful for this exercise.)
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And here's something important.
That 'more' in you might not mean doing more.
It might be discovering your ability to delegate.
To stop doing something you've always done.
To let go.
To ask for help.
Or to find your voice and say "No".
Sometimes that feeling of overwhelm is the moment we discover we've been measuring our capacity by the way we've always done things in the past.
Rather than considering what else might be available to us.
Perhaps the overwhelm is turning us over, inviting us to see the underside — the part of ourselves that's always been there, but that we've never had reason to recognise or use.
So, the next time you feel overwhelmed, consider that perhaps it's inviting you to look a little deeper.
Beneath what you already know of yourself.
To discover something more.
And perhaps, instead of overwhelm being a moment of 'not enough-ness', it becomes an invitation to recognise and express the 'more' in you.
♡
Di
An invitation for 19 November
We each have extraordinary human superpowers already within us — the trick is to recognise them and learn how to use them, especially when life gets challenging.
On 19 November, I'm hosting a free training exploring our three superpowers of Life. Mind. Heart.
I'd love you to join me if you feel drawn to.
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