Overwhelm!!! AHHHHHHH!!! Ever feel so stressed that you just go into freeze mode??? Like there is so much going on in your brain that you just sit there staring at the computer screen or sit at the kitchen table staring into space feeling fried because your mental “to do” list is just completely out of control??? (See!!! You’re not the only one..how would I know to write that if I haven’t been there myself! 🙂 ) So, the stress thing…it pops up a lot! Whether it’s at work, with our kids, in our relationships, our lives in general or even when a lot of great things are happening all at once (which can be very cool-but still stressful if we don’t find a way to make it all flow!)…The three things:

1. So yes, the first thing is to get it out of your mind and WRITE IT ALL DOWN! It totally works, you’ve heard that before, so I’m not going to spend time on it…just reminding you to get back into the habit of doing that 😉 It’s a simple task but can bring HUGE results as step in relieving stress!

2. Here’s a big one: Accept WHAT and WHO you can’t control! As I mentioned in one of my earlier blogs on the topic of “letting go”…here’s where we have to do some emotional and mental reflection in understanding what we have to stop mentally fighting against. Newsflash: You CAN’T control what other people do or say or think about you…they have their own life experiences and belief systems that cause them to do and say what they want. One of my favorite thoughts is: “What other people think of you is none of your business!”. And no, this might not be easy, because deep down we all want to be loved and accepted, but the sooner you can just accept that you can’t go around controlling everyone’s thoughts and actions the better! You put out your best self that there is , and if people don’t get you…not your problem to solve!…NEXT! Cool thing is that you DO get to control how to react to stressful people and situations…so put your energy into that and not them…you’ll get much better results…for real 😉

3. Change your perspectives! Now I love this topic so much that I can write a book on it (as a matter of fact I am lol 😉 It can be like a game sometimes…”This thing or situation is stressing me out…so what’s a better way to look at it? What’s the positive spin I can put on this? What am I learning from it? How might this be setting me up for a better future even though it might not be so clear for me right now?” There’s also a lot of gratitude that can come out of this idea. For example….You might feel: I have so much family laundry to do it’s driving me crazy! Take your kids away, or not ever have had them, and believe me, you’d do anything to be able to fold their socks and pajamas. Hard core, yes…but that can help change your perspective right away in that your LUCKY to be able to do their laundry and your LUCKY to have kids to do laundry for in the first place. Seriously, I used to get overwhelmed by a simple thing such as laundry, but now having gone through divorce, I don’t get to see my kids every every single day…and now I get to appreciate folding their clothes…I’m blessed to have 3 amazing kids, no matter the “stress” that sometimes comes with that :)…so do you get what I’m saying??

Here’s another example…let’s say you feel overwhelmed with life in general. You have family parties to go to, a house to take care of, kids to keep busy, work that you have to go to every day, people who want to spend more time with you….instead of saying to yourself : “My life is so stressed!” Why not try on: “My life is so FULL!” 🙂 Take a step back and realize all the great things you have going on…you mean you have family and friends that you love who love you and want your attention? You mean you have a job to go to every day when people wish they had one? You mean you had the courage to start your own business and now have the opportunity to add value and lead others? You mean you have a home and roof over your head to work for where some people are sleeping on the street tonight? You mean you get to go food shopping with aisles and aisles of food to choose from when some people in the world never get to go food shopping in their country? Sounds like we ALL have it better than we realize sometimes…changing “every day stress” into “every day gratitude” can make a HUGE difference for all of us!!! 🙂

COOL QUOTE ALERT !

“God didn’t do it all in one day. What makes me think I can? :)” ~Author Unknown

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another!” ~William James

So I’d love to hear from you through a comment bleow! I’ll be sure to write back! 🙂

With crazy love and gratitude!

Donna xoxo