One Small Step...

How often do you feel totally overwhelmed with all the goals and responsibilities on your plate? I don’t know about you, but I hate it when that happens. Even though I pride myself on making reasonable commitments for my time, energy, and attention, and keeping those commitments as a non-negotiable, sometimes I over-extend myself.

Sometimes, something has to give.

I often think of trying to keep all the balls in the air, knowing which are made of rubber (and will bounce), and which are made of glass (which will break) – when you let go. It’s one thing if you can be deliberate about your choices, letting go the rubber balls while keeping the glass balls in the air. Sometimes, you are forced to let them all go, and do your best to clean up the pieces afterward.

So, what do you do when you get overwhelmed?  Does the fight, flight or freeze response take over?  I've experienced all of those.  When I feel truly overwhelmed, I tend to get frozen:  so many things to do, I don't know where to start, so I do nothing.  Has that ever happened to you?  (Please tell me I'm not alone!)

The Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu reminds us that the "journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." 

Taking any action - even one small step - can reactivate your momentum, realign your attention and refocus your perspective in a forward direction.  It may seem insignificant, but any forward motion can help to re-motivate yourself when you've lost traction.  So just for today, I commit to taking one small step.

Here's my question to you:  Where in your life have you lost some momentum?  And here’s my challenge: What one small step can you take to get back on track?  Where do you need to re-commit? 

Along the way, I highly recommend letting go of any tendency to beat yourself up on this.  It's wasted energy.  Admit you lost focus, own it, and recommit.  Let yourself off the hook!  Identify the area that needs more attention, acknowledge it, and don't judge yourself too harshly about it.  Just recommit your time, energy and attention, as needed.

After all, your time, your energy, and your attention are your greatest resources.  Being deliberate about how you use those resources is an on-going process and challenge.  It requires thoughtful intention.  And it's helpful to reflect occasionally on how you are doing and re-adjust as necessary. 

We've all had to re-shift priorities, often, multiple times within a year.  And sometimes, we just miss in calculating how long it will take to get back to our normal pace and keep on keeping on. Give yourself some grace.

If you are experiencing a sense of overwhelm, and need some help,  I invite you to schedule some time with me to share your number one challenge -- whether it's personal, professional or organizational -- and I will offer at least one small step you can take, one action that will provide forward motion.