Are you starting to burn out from how overwhelmed you feel?
Life is a lot to handle even when you’re in the right mindset. And if you’re struggling to keep a positive outlook on life then being overwhelmed can be the tipping point.
Whether it’s from trying to get good grades in school, do a good job at work, or just having enough energy to get by every day. Being overwhelmed can lead to a lot of other feelings, like anxiety and depression.
You start to easily get down on yourself for not accomplishing enough and it feels like everything around you is crumbling apart. And yet you’re overworking yourself and barely have enough time to get a good night’s sleep.
Something’s gotta give, right?
The good news is it’s possible to live a hectic life without feeling totally and completely overwhelmed. It just takes some focus and determination on your part.
Finding what really matters to you and letting all the other crap go. If you’re trying to do a million things at once and only care about a quarter of those things, you’ll easily become burnt-out.
It will even make you hate doing the things you actually enjoy doing. So, let’s talk about some ways you can stop feeling so overwhelmed starting right now.
What to do When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed & Anxious
1. Identify What You Do And Don’t Care About
This is what I like to call filtering out your life. Filtering allows you to be more in tune with yourself because you only do the stuff you actually care about and let all the other crap go.
As you look around at your life think about the things you love and want to make time for. Maybe that’s your family, your job, hobbies you enjoy, or being around your pets.
This is different for everyone so it’s important to clear out all the noise around you and truly identify what YOU want. Not what anyone else wants.
Then, go through and identify all the things you’re making time for right now that you actually really don’t enjoy.
Maybe that’s going to the gym, being around people who are really negative, or going to college just to please your parents.
If you’re doing a lot of stuff you hate doing, you will burn out. And it’s partly from your inner spark going out.
You aren’t listening to your own wants and needs enough.
2. Get Organized
Once you figure out the things you really like to do, then figure out how to add more of that into your life.
You get to create the life you want and it’s entirely in your hands. You don’t have to keep doing things you don’t enjoy.
And getting organized helps clear up all the thoughts going on in your head.
Use a planner or a calendar to sort out how you will start adding these things into your life.
What I like to do is write down a big list of all the things I want to do or have more of, and then I plug those into my planner. That way each week I know what to focus on.
And it’s a reminder of what’s really important. It will help keep you in check of doing the things you want to do and stop doing the things you don’t want.
3. Make Time for Peace & Quiet
Life is a hectic crazy mess. And a lot of the time we can’t control what is thrown at us.
What you can control is how you react to it. And trust me, if you’re walking around like a volcano about to erupt, you will not be able to control it when you finally explode.
Overwhelm will make you feel like you’re going crazy if you allow it to. If you allow life to keep throwing shit at you, you will eventually explode on whatever innocent bystander happens to be in your way. Whether that’s your boyfriend or someone who cuts you off in rush hour traffic.
To avoid getting to this point make time for peace and quiet. Make it your intention to unwind every single day. If work makes you stressed out, take time out of your day to be alone in your thoughts.
Shut the door to your bedroom, put on some calming music, and put your phone in the other room. Shut out all of the noise from the world. Shut out of all of your responsibilities and the things you need to get done.
Make time for yourself and make this a priority every single day. It might not feel like it will do anything, but trust me it does.
4. Try Out EFT Tapping
I’m not that into “just think positive and your problems will go away”. Because I’ve tried it enough times to realize it only makes me feel worse instead of better.
So, as I recommend EFT tapping don’t think I believe it’s the end all be all solution. I do believe it is a very helpful tool and a different form of meditation.
I personally can’t just sit down and be with my own thoughts, what helps is doing EFT tapping. And how it works is you tap certain pressure points around your body while saying affirmations.
I’ve linked a video below to better explain how it works. This can help you relieve a lot of built-up tension and anxiety.
Coming from someone who overthinks way too much, this is a tool I love to use on a daily basis to realign myself and it works.
5. Limit Your Options
If you have an Instagram account you know how easy it is to get sucked into the alternative world.
The beautiful photos can make it seem enticing to have a big house, toned abs, or more followers.
And if you set those things are your ultimate goals in life, you’ll constantly be hustling for more.
Seeking more external resources to make you happy.
When you can start with what you have right now.
Try to work on making your life simpler, not more complicated.
With a simple mindset change, you won’t have to feel like you constantly have to hustle your butt off to get all of these things.
Start with the things that bring you fulfillment, that don’t cost money or require a lot of effort.
A simple hike up in the mountains can bring you way more happiness than materialistic things.
When you limit your options, you get rid of all the unnecessary stress you’re causing yourself.
7. Create an Action List
Start taking action today.
Instead of thinking you have to live in this constant state of mind, you can choose to take action.
Set aside time every day to focus on your to-do list.
Keep taking action every day. Make it a point to focus on the most important things that mean the most to you.
Focus on reducing the things that don’t provide a whole lot of value to you.
If you hate your job, figure out a way to put a plan into action to find something better.
Taking action is the best way to get out of your overwhelmed state of mind and move on to better things.
So if you are feeling overwhelmed, try to work on reducing the things that are causing you stress. Some things are out of our control, and that’s what I’m trying to learn myself.
Learning how to control what you can and let go of what you can’t is tough! If you can ask yourself ‘Is this out of my control?’ and accept the answer, then you’re on the right path to making improvements.
Moving Forward
As you choose to do more of the things you want and enjoy doing, you won’t feel so overwhelmed.
Learning to set boundaries and stop doing the things you hate will keep you more aligned with your values and goals.
It all starts with you and how you choose to live your life.
