Overwhelm

We quit.

We quit on our business, we quit on our job, we quit on others, and we quit on ourselves.

That's what happens when we don't tackle the overwhelm some of us feel on a daily basis.

2018 Gallup Poll actually found 67% of employees felt burnt out. And according to a more recent 2020 to Capital One Business Survey, 42% of business owners are experiencing burnout. And 52% haven't taken a vacation in the last year.

Overwhelm leads to job dissatisfaction, job absenteeism, poor decision making, depression, heart disease, and even suicide.

Too many things to do, too many issues, too many people to manage, too many thoughts, too many expectations, too many commitments, too many problem relationships, too many clients, too many opportunities?

Well, logically, then, the answer to this problem of overwhelm, is to do less of all those things.

Fewer things to do, fewer issues, fewer people to manage, fewer thoughts, fewer expectations, fewer commitments, fewer relationships, fewer clients, fewer opportunities.

But then we're stressed that we don't have enough of all those things.

There's a better answer.

The problem is not the situation you're in or how many issues you're dealing with.

The problem is how you focus on those things.

Now, you can't always control your situation, but you can absolutely always control your focus. And if you change your focus, you change your life.

And I found that changing focus is a four-step process.

I call it making a focus switch.

1. Identify. When you're feeling overwhelmed, angry, frustrated, or just down, identify what you're focused on. That's causing that disempowering feeling.

2. Decide. Once you understand the focus that's causing the disempowering feeling, decide what changing focus would lead to a more empowering feeling. For example, if you're focused on what you don't want, decide to make a focus switch to what you want. If you focus on things that are outside of your control, decide to make a focus switch to things that are in your control.

3. Practice. Practice that focus switch whenever you can, practice in the moment, practice it through meditation or visualization at the beginning of the day. Practice it by coming up with affirmations that are consistent with that new focus.

4. Reinforce. Do something to document and celebrate the times you're successful making that focus switch, what benefits then making that focus switch have on your mindset, and your ability to problem solve. Now, you're not going to be successful every time. But if you celebrate it and reinforce it when you are, you're actually rewiring your brain.

So to make a focus switch identify, decide, practice, reinforce, where do you feel overwhelmed?

Where do you need to focus switch, remember, if you change your focus, you change your life.

Now, go change your life.