Nobody calls it overwhelm…

I hear versions of these sentences a lot, particularly from business owners, leaders and professionals who are used to being the person who gets things done.

“I just need to get through this week.”

“There’s too much going on at the moment.”

“It’s easier if I do it myself.”

“I haven’t got time to stop.”

“I’m exhausted, but the minute I go to bed my brain starts going.”

And, of course, that old favourite… “I’m fine. I’m just busy.”

The interesting thing is, they often are fine. Or at least, they’re still functioning. They’re turning up, making decisions, answering emails, looking after their team, dealing with clients and keeping everything moving.

And perhaps that’s why overwhelm can be so easy to miss. Because it doesn’t always look like someone falling apart.

Sometimes it looks like becoming a little more impatient than usual. Forgetting things. Waking at 3am thinking about tomorrow. Struggling to make simple decisions. Working longer because you can’t concentrate quite as well as you used to. Or finally sitting down at the end of the day and realising that, even though your body has stopped, your mind hasn’t.

One phrase I hear particularly often is, “Once I’ve got through this, things will calm down.”

Except sometimes there’s always another this.

Another deadline. Another problem to solve. Another person who needs something from you. Another decision to make. And before you know it, constantly pushing through has simply become the way you operate.

That’s when I think it’s worth asking yourself a slightly different question.

Not simply, “Can I cope with everything I’ve got going on?”

But, “What is it costing me to keep coping like this?”

Because being able to cope doesn’t necessarily mean the way you’re coping is sustainable.

So here’s a little Quiet Edge check-in for this week.

How many of those sentences have you said lately?

And if your answer is more than you expected, perhaps you don’t need to wait for everything to calm down before giving yourself permission to do something about it.

Here’s a little something to listen to… 

If some of those sentences sounded rather familiar, this week’s recommendation is a short 16-minute conversation with Oliver Burkeman on Feel Better, Live More.

He talks about something I think many of us need reminding of: perhaps the answer to having too much to do isn’t always finding a better way to get it all done.

Sometimes we need to accept that we can’t – and then decide what doesn’t need doing.

It’s well worth 16 minutes of your time.

CLICK HERE

Shirley x