To beat that feeling of overwhelm, you need to think differently

As the owner of a personal development company, a castle in Italy, a resort called El Lugar in Costa Rica and an antique guild in Australia, I can honestly say – even with all that is going on – overwhelm is not something I do, writes Gary Douglas.

Juggling multiple businesses and projects successfully can be achieved, and it does not have to be at the expense of you, your health or your wellbeing.

It does require that you look from a different perspective than what mainstream offers with regards to stress relief.

But why wouldn’t you? If the predominant ideas on dealing with overwhelm worked, stress and anxiety would be on the decline and clearly, they are not.

For those of you brave enough to try something different, here are my top three tips on overcoming overwhelm.

1. Overwhelm is not real

Overwhelm is an invention. It is a choice. You can have a long list of things that require your attention and have ease, fun and lightness with all of it. Or, you can have a few things to do and live in a constant state of stress. One of the biggest determining factors is your point of view.

Your point of view about anything creates your experience with it. If you have the point of view that there is not enough time in the day to accomplish the tasks that require your attention, that point of view will ensure that you don’t accomplish what you desire.

If, on the other hand, you have the point of view that you know what to do, when to do it and that creating business can be done with joy and ease, that will be your experience too.

You choose. Change your point of view. Change your experience.

2. What can you add to your life?

No. That is not a typo. As counter-intuitive as it sounds, when you are overwhelmed, it is likely because you do not have enough going on.

When highly creative people are bored, they create upset, drama and overwhelm to fill the space. Ask, “What can I add to my life? What would be fun for me?” Perhaps choosing a hobby such as sailing or hiking would add an element of fun and being in nature, that would contribute.

Or, perhaps adding another business or starting another project would spark your senses. Contrary to popular opinion, going on vacation is not the cure for overwhelm. Adding things that light you up overcomes overwhelm.

3. Who can you hire?

The idea that you have to do everything yourself creates stress for many people. If there are things that need to get done that you are not getting to, rather than fret about it, look at who you can hire to do it for you.

People sometimes hesitate in making this choice. Either because they don’t believe that anyone can do it as well as they can, or that it won’t get done the way they would like it to get done, or they do not wish to spend the money. None of these reasons are relevant. If you repeatedly procrastinate on something, you don’t wish to do it. Hire someone else and free up that space.

Overwhelm is a state of mind that is chosen. If you want to change something, you have to change the energy of it. The energy of overwhelm can shift to the energy of ease, playfulness, creativity, adventure and the joy of living.

Let go of the points of view that you have bought from others that are not creating what you desire. Add things, experiences and people to your life that will bring you up. Let go of having to do it all yourself and hire people who will contribute to you and your business.

Overwhelm is a choice. Ease is a choice. What will you choose?

This article was first published on Flying Solo, read the original here.

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