It’s 1:50 p.m. Friday.
The daily to-do list has only one thing completed. The weekly project is days behind schedule.
Stress wells up, slowly at first, and then full flush: heart pounding, shallow breathing, jaw clenched, short temper, inability to focus. Then the phone rings.
“What good is this?”
That, my friend, is a very good question.
We all experience that feeling of overwhelm, hit the brick wall, and have times when it seems we’ll never catch up with our to-do list.
What happens when overwhelm becomes your normal operating state?
We know it’s not physically healthy for you. It’s not good for your career either. If you are always complaining about being overwhelmed, you probably won’t get a lot of additional work to do or asked to be on those high visibility projects.
Of course, that may be exactly what you want – even if you don’t know it.
How do You Benefit from Being Overwhelm?
Ask yourself what you get from being overwhelmed all the time?
This question is the first tool you need to chisel away at the brick wall that’s between you and success.
Hint: The benefits of being overwhelmed aren’t pretty and we don’t like to admit them. Examples:
- I get to say no to more things that I don’t want to do.
- I can miss a deadline (or all my deadlines).
- My work doesn’t have to be good, they’re just happy to get anything from me.
- I get sympathy from my family.
- I can shirk my family and home duties.
- Other people will do some of my work for me.
- I can lower my expectations for myself in what I can do.
- I don’t have to try as hard.
It takes courage to admit these benefits. You are on your way to getting unstuck and creating success. Keep at it!
