When one thing goes wrong,
Suddenly everything feels like it's going wrong.
So we're gonna chat about that today.
I'm Dana Mitchell,
And thanks for joining me in Simple Shifts Forward.
When one thing goes wrong,
Suddenly everything feels overwhelming,
And that may not be your imagination.
One situation can tip the scales,
And suddenly it feels like life is just piling on from every direction.
People like to say things like,
When it rains,
It pours,
Or it's not just one thing,
It's another.
And it can start to feel like everything is happening at once.
What has helped me to understand this a little bit differently is realizing that life isn't just one big pile on.
It's made up of different areas,
And they're more connected than we may think they are.
When stress rises in one area,
You have less capacity everywhere else.
If you're having a tough week at work,
That can make you feel more irritable at home.
Poor sleep can make small problems feel overwhelming.
Emotional tension can drain your energy faster than you expect it does.
It's not that everything suddenly is going wrong,
It's just that your system is carrying more stuff,
More baggage,
More tension than normal.
And when that happens,
Our instinct may be to try to fix it all at once,
Especially for the all-or-nothing people like me.
So that only adds to more pressure.
What helps is to gently pull things apart.
Instead of saying,
My whole life feels like too much,
You might begin to notice that breaking things down into different areas may help it feel less heavy right now.
So let's talk about ways to categorize areas of life.
It could be work career,
Health and wellness,
Relationships,
Financial,
Work-life balance.
Another category that I add in for myself is fun.
Am I having any of it?
You don't have to work on all these areas at once and you don't have to do it perfectly.
Think of that whole idea of throwing a pebble into a lake.
There's a ripple effect.
So when you make a positive change in one area,
It can ripple out to all the other areas because again,
They're all connected.
Getting a bit more rest can change your mood.
One honest conversation can ease that emotional pressure that you may be distributing in other areas of your life.
Taking care of your body makes everything feel more manageable.
So today,
Instead of trying to get everything back on track all at once,
See if you can break it apart a little bit and notice one area of life that feels a little heavier than the rest.
Ask yourself,
What feels off?
Where do I feel it in my body?
Are there words to describe what I'm feeling?
You don't have to fix it.
Take that pressure off.
You don't have to fix it.
Just name it.
And often,
Once we name it,
Little shifts begin to happen and that is where the momentum begins.
And if this conversation has been helpful,
Follow me in my profile and listen to a few of the other Clarity Chats.
These are little steps that we can take to feel less overwhelmed,
Feel more productive,
And feel more energized in our day.
I hope that you have a great rest of your week and we will chat again soon.
