When Things Feel Hard and Overwhelming, Do This Instead

Life Lesson #6: When things feel hard and overwhelming, slow down and do less, instead of plowing through.

A few years ago, when I felt overwhelmed with everything to do, I would double down on my effort and hard work.

I would put in longer hours, push through the overwhelm, and tell myself that when I got all caught up THEN I would slow down and give myself a break.

But this approach was a stressful way to live. And not very productive after all!

When you are overwhelmed or stressed, you are less focused, less productive, make more mistakes, things actually take longer and feels pretty crappy too.

Today, when the overwhelm sets in, I do the exact opposite of what I used to and slow down in those moments instead (it still feels counterintuitive at times).

So, the next time that you're feeling overwhelmed, instead of plowing through . . .

. . . pause, take a deep breath and acknowledge how you're feeling. Ask yourself: What do I need right now?

Maybe it’s a walk, a breather, talk to someone, honor a boundary, whatever it is for you. It might look different depending on the day.

And, if you must focus to get something done, ask yourself questions like: What’s most important right now? What really matters? What do I need to care about less?

Focus on the task at hand instead of the 100 other things on your to-do list (which is inherently overwhelming).

Give yourself permission to take something off your plate if you need.

When you slow it down, you can be overwhelmed for 15 minutes or an hour, instead of day after day!

Want to read all the life lessons?  Go here and click to it.

All my best, 

What Next?

You can sign up for Stacey's masterclass, The Confident "No" here.

Stacey L. Olson is a Leadership and Certified Positive Psychology Coach, has 15 years of corporate experience and has gone through her own transformational change from burning out to balanced in life while performing at a high level (both in her corporate career and own business). She works with professionals who want to work less, live more and be their best even with all the demands, high expectations and messiness of everyday life. Stacey is the founder of The Balanced Leader™ program and offers executive and leadership coaching, workshops, and speaking.