Handling the overwhelm
“…but I’m feeling so overwhelmed. I just don’t know how to DO ALL THE THINGS
”
Being your own boss is amazing. When you can answer the question ‘So, what do you do?’ with ‘I run my own business’, you feel independent, strong…and super cool.
You are an empowered human making your own way in the world.
But with that comes responsibility. And with responsibility comes those day when you want to curl up in the corner and let someone else take care of everything because there’s just so much, and you’re only one person.
Along the way I’ve had to pick myself up and deal with the overwhelm to keep moving the business forward. It isn’t easy — but it is a learning opportunity. Amidst the murk of stress and worry there is the space to find your inner strength. Your inner #BeautyBoss.
Two Ways to Keep it Together
These are the two things that have kept me going during the moments when I felt pressure rising. I hope they’ll be useful for you, too.
1. Remembering I’m a human worthy of love and care too.
My life’s work is all about supporting others and making them feel good. About making them feel beautiful, worthy, and appreciated.
On overwhelming days I try to imagine I’m one of my clients, coming in flustered and stressed. What would I say to her? Would I tell her she was useless and incapable, or would I encourage her to recognise her own power and competency?
And then I’m able to practice what I preach. I remind myself to take some time out, pamper myself, and breathe deeply. Just 30 minutes of peaceful time in which I don’t try to solve anything brings me back to myself.
2. Complete one simple task.
The most overwhelming thing for me is when my to-do list is as long as my arm and I feel like I’ll never be able to complete everything on it. So I don’t know where to start. So I don’t start.
The popular advice is that you should do hardest thing first. But I find that choosing one simple task that won’t take much time, and doing that, works better for me.
It gives me a confidence boost. It takes away the stress of feeling as though there aren’t enough hours in the day to do my work.
I tell myself there’s no pressure: just do that one thing. And once I’ve done that I always feel positive and motivated to tackle bigger items on my list.