The Cause of Overwhelm

by Rachelle Disbennet-Lee, PhD.

One of the biggest complaints I hear as a coach is that there is simply too much to do. I sometimes feel this way myself. However, I know the cause of it. Me! Overwhelm is caused by too much to do, and too much to do is caused by overbooking and over-committing. If you don’t want to be overwhelmed, don’t take on too much to do.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is saying yes to everything without evaluating how it all works together. My analogy for this is going to a buffet and piling food on your plate without giving any consideration to how you will eat it all. This doesn’t mean you have to start saying no to everything and do nothing. You can do everything, just not at one time. Life is about balance. Say yes to only what you want to do right now, keep a list of things you might want to do in the future, and be sure to build space into your life. You truly don’t have to be doing something every minute of the day.

Get into the habit of saying no. This may sound radical, but most people say yes without thinking and this tendency is the major cause of overwhelm. Try saying no without thinking. You can always change your mind later if you want. It is much easier to go back to someone and say, “I have given this some thought and I would like to (fill in the blank).” It will be a nice surprise for the other person and you will be committing to something you have thought about and really want to do.

Rachelle Disbennett-Lee, PhD provides daily motivation, information and inspiration to thousands of people through her award winning e-zine 365 Days of Coaching.  For a free report, "The Power of Daily Action - How to create more Wealth, Health and Happiness by Tapping Into the Power of Daily Action" go to http://www.365daysofcoaching.com/daily_action.htm 
© Coach Rachelle Disbennett Lee, PhD, 2007