It’s common to feel overwhelmed and stressed sometimes.
When we do it can be debilitating. We’ve all been there at some point. Sometimes we can feel stress for a prolonged period.
We all know that stress and overwhelm is very bad for our physical and mental health.
Here’s some quick practical tips on how you can coach yourself into a place of peace:
TIP 1- Be ok to move the goalposts
When a goal has been defined and it has a timeline, sometimes it’s ok to move the deadline! No really it is most of the time okay to do this. We can also change the way the goal is achieved as well as it’s deadline. Changing the deadline, isn’t always possible, but most of the time, even when we think it isn’t it is.
Andrew Womack has built a huge worldwide ministry. His attitude is that when he sets himself a big goal like completing a building or similar, even it is ends up happening later than planned, he is still happy and doesn’t stress about delays.
An important part of being kind to ourselves, is to be ok with the way and the time scale that things happen. This is especially true when starting new things, as we don’t know what we don’t know. God also has a way of doing things differently to the way we plan to. We need to be okay with adapting and to learn how to do this quickly and easily.
What goal posts need shifting in your life goals?
What goalposts need shifting in your work goals to bring you peace?
TIP 2 – Know when to give up and when not to
When running a business, or being in the midst of any big, prolonged project, this is one of the hardest areas to navigate. It’s hard even in daily life. When something is not going well, do you give up or persevere?
The decision can’t be made lightly. My top coaching tip is to ask questions of your heart and of God to discover what is right for you.
How will my heart feel if I give it up?
Would I feel regret in the future?
God, what are your thoughts on this? Give me some confirmation to indicate which is the best route.
TIP 3 – REST!
Most of the time we feel stressed and overwhelmed when we are tired, or we become tired when we are stressed and overwhelmed. Either way, ‘tired’ needs fixing! The type of tired we feel, can be a temporary ‘I just feel tired today’, kind of feeling or a more burnt out, ‘I feel tired everyday at the moment,’ kind of feeling!
Depending on which one you have will depend on how much rest you need. Sometimes a day off or a weekend of complete rest will renew and refresh you. Other times if you feel mentally or emotionally exhausted and somewhat burnt out, you will need some kind of sabbatical, giving you some months or even a year’s rest of some kind. A long term period of rest can look like giving up certain things, giving up a lot of things, or all things. You will know what you need most, and God can help you figure it out.
Do you have a I feel tired today feeling or a I feel tired everyday feeling?
On a scale of 1 to 10 how tired do you feel?
TIP 4 – Manage tasks in a way that brings you peace
Many times we feel overwhelmed and stressed because we just feel there is too much to do and we don’t know how we will ever get through it all. (Can you relate? I certainly can!)
At times like this, it is well worth either getting a coach to help or coaching yourself into taking stock of all tasks and going through a process to organise and categorise everything.
Quite simply write everything down, boring everyday tasks, and big important goals and dreams too. Look at the week, the month, the year. Start to spread it all out appropriately, in a way that makes you feel comfortable and peaceful. Maybe remove some things that you don’t want to do this year. They may be able to go into a list that simply says, ‘not this year, for future consideration.’
Sometimes it’s really helpful to front load your schedule with tasks that bring you life, that energise you. This helps you get going and kind of lifts that feeling of overwhelm and stress.
With difficult tasks, explore why do these tasks feel so difficult?
What would make them feel easy and fun? (Eg, having help, or learning expertise you need may shift it for you)
It may feel stressful to take the time to do the above, but it will really help to take away that feeling of being out of control and being overwhelmed. Hope this helped someone!
Bless you,