Overwhelmed is an understatement especially during the holidays when year-end deadlines are looming and new year goals emerge. It’s important to stay healthy like this budding avocado tree…
It’s also best to stay focused and look at life not as seriously.
...Seriously, 😳 I say this through the lens of my experiences where I went through many seasons where I couldn’t see the forest through the trees.
My work life was overwhelming.
…Then that all disappeared… poof!, like that… it was gone. That happened for many seasons so I caught on and started over in different work industries, jobs, and relationships.
It feels good to have comical relief and laugh it out with new beginnings and pivots.
Personally, I know the universe is laughing along.
…and maybe that’s how you feel?
In 2020, all of our lives changed when the world shut down and daily offices closed.
Each of us had our choices as to how to respond.
For me in my microcosm, I took that as a spiritual sign.
The situation only confirmed further to me that everything in this life is going to keep changing, along with the good, bad, and ugly.
…That’s how this life is meant to be so our planet can survive and thrive.
Embracing that we’re in a spiritual experience and journey can help us see this better.
Because none of us are handed manuals to our lives… that look very different than our co-workers or neighbors living next to us… and even more different than our friends and families we know intimately.
And that’s how I came to grips that this life is about gathering experiences.
…It’s not a spectator sport like the famous baseball player, Jackie Robinson, said.
Life is like a sport that’s constantly in play and you never know what will happen until it happens.
The good and bad plays are the experiences that make us grow and gain new perspectives.
Good experiences make us want to go back, and bad ones…well, they add burden weight if we allow them to.
…But they also makes us head in another (often opposite) direction to grow even more and get past, if we’re open to seeing it that way.
…And feeling overwhelmed is one weight indicator that can make us want to choose a better or another path.
When I worked in the corporate world for two decades for multiple industries, stress was a frequent common daily response.
You got used to it (even though the body never does).
Stress is the body’s way of coping for unnatural circumstances (that stress is processed in the mind-body).
And longterm chronic stress is not the good life habit we want or need to live.
…So when I left the corporate world, it took years for a new life and breakthroughs (rebirth) to break out and sink in. Because I was still the same person.
It was like I traded in a familiar used car for a different and new set of wheels (life). Then I was like those transformer toy cars (…maybe you’re old enough to remember?)…
…Flipped around, they could change styles in a heartbeat, as they were built with two styles… and you could choose which one you were experiencing at any moment.
Almost like two personalities or people…
I could use my old corporate skills that came in handy (minus the stress headaches in the job 😉)… and bring creative energy to my newfound work with a different daily design.
My new life was anti-aging compared to the old one. It came with normal 6-8 sleeping hours without an alarm clock.
I didn’t feel like a robot going through the motions of the week. 🤖 And I didn’t feel like a panicky human with constant heart palpitations lurking around every corner.
I could enjoyably stay up late to watch shows and not pay for it the next day.
…And when I lost all my computer data that can happen often with this new digital age, I didn’t freak out like I would’ve before in the corporate days.
I didn’t even worry one iota.
Instead I looked at it as a way to save me from the hassle of having to delete and make micro decisions on files that would be outdated soon enough.
My new assistant was technology working! 😁
So I went from one paper-filled world when I was working with foodie event contracts to paperless and data less.
And less data clutter is a metaphor for re-routing me.
But that was just the beginning……
When I reported to myself in this newly defined role of working for myself for the first time, I no longer felt overwhelmed.
I sometimes worked 8 hours a day, but those hours felt productive.
I didn’t watch the clock in excitement for the work day to end.
I also found time to do yoga. All you need is a mat and a few minutes. 🧘🏻♀️
And I worked on what inspired me as leading me to the path that I was meant to go, that’s purpose and spiritual.
…I could also ran errands on my time. Those mini-escapes let me have more quiet time…
…Quiet time allows for the inner self and spirit to get a word in edgewise.
I could find what my season is about on any day… I didn’t have to wait 6-months later for reality to kick in and feel like I was in a never-ending rat race job I didn’t like… or was missing out on something like a life opportunity..
…That btw is where every job I held in the past eventually landed.
In this new life, I could navigate and adjust daily what my next life step was and is.
There was a peace and calm in knowing that it would work out or else I would be doing something else I was meant to be doing.
But didn’t come without some stress like learning to trust that the Universe would provide.
Some stress is good because it keeps us motivated.
If you don’t have a bear on your back, you tend to get comfortable.
But when you’re backed into a corner, you tend to put pressure on yourself to make things happen quicker.
And I’ve come to grips that stress means you’re working, coming up with solutions, and contributing to our world of chaos.
Those gray hairs come from stress turned platinum. 😁
…And those platinum hairs are purposefully chic because you still care what you look like in the mirror and how others see you daily. 🪞
You’re also showing up for your part, so your stress is not in vain.
…And you’re on your journey to finding that sweet spot of your purpose and what you are meant for.
That’s spiritual and beyond outward talent that’s important.
…But talent is ever changing and your spiritual essence is not. Talent can die at any time. Spirit moves and changes with you until the end.
You’re not likely to be overwhelmed by your spirit that is quietly whispering and subtle.
You and I don’t have to be seniors to know that… and between the two of us, you and I have seen so many examples of those we know who didn’t find their changing purposes guided by their spirit in life.
…Over time the shiny and new transformers became dull and listless.
Their engines aren’t revved up because they’ve given up on change in themselves.
But that won’t happen to you as long as you don’t give up on growing… you’re bound to succeed in your desires.
But if you feel you need a tune-up, maybe instead of doing the same things you’ve done, consider taking a moment to do something radically different for your day to escape the regular rhythm flow.
The world and your work will still run with your pause.
Like: escape and read a book you would never consider before, with hopes to learn something new about yourself. 📚
Self-discovery is underrated because it’s invisible in the air, but we can inspire our wonder and stimulate our curiosity.
I find that reading books about other’s lives and memoirs helps me to stay grounded and learn things about my own life… and not take life so seriously!
We’re on a spiritual journey in life and when we know that, we aren’t as overwhelmed with what’s going on around us.
And enjoy the daily ride for all its parts. 🏎️
And if reading isn’t calling you: you could start writing a personal essay journal-style if you don’t want to feel overwhelmed.
Dare yourself.
Let out your thoughts and emotions. You can always crumple it up and delete it later.
Let the intention be that you learn more about your inner self.
And maybe discover your creativity.
Creativity is an escape and a sign that you’re out of overwhelmed feelings.
It’s a spiritual gift.
And you could find your calling that way.
That’s what happened to me… I wrote over a hundred 100 personal essays and put them out in the world.
And I never stopped…
…But I could’ve easily missed the writing calling.
And I almost did… had I chosen to stay in the corporate working world.
Because then and there I would be worrying what I would say and put out in the world.
That would create more stress and overwhelm than worth sharing.
But in my chosen new way o life, I creatively write and post during my previously forbidden corporate work hours.
And those are my carved out, glorious sacred work hours…
The world freezes around me and my blood pressure lowers in this cool, calm healthy environment. ☃️
Hopefully this inspires you to escape and find a way to emerge from any overwhelmed seasons… and find your spiritual schtick.
