Oh, how trying the stresses of life can be! Having situations that affect your peace of mind can be challenging. And sometimes you feel like you’ve gotten way more than you can handle. Yet still, you find a way to keep going.
It’s great when you can find the determination to keep going. But are you doing so to your own detriment? Perhaps the way you’re responding isn’t always the best.
Coping mechanisms help to keep you in the game. But after a while, you may end up crashing. The most beneficial approach involves using well thought-out strategies to keep you in control.
Try this process to respond to an especially challenging situation:
- Stop in your tracks. If you feel overwhelmed now, it’s likely to get even worse if you keep going the way you are now! Stop right where you are and accept the situation for what it is.
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- Look back at what has happened up until this point in time. Can you identify the reasons behind your downfall? Make a note of them.
- Embrace your shortcomings. Do you have shortcomings that prevented you from staying on top of things? Be honest with yourself when trying to identify them. It’s the only way you’ll be able to move on to resolving the situation.
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- Whatever you’ve identified as your shortcomings, accept and embrace them. It’s pointless allowing them to bring your mood down. You’re already overwhelmed. The last thing you need to do is put yourself down.
- Avoid excuses. Even though you feel overwhelmed, the last thing you want to do is blame it on something or somebody else. Avoid overlooking yourself as the main factor behind your current situation.
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- It’s easy in stressful situations to refuse accountability. Just the tension alone is enough to drive your mind in crazy directions. Just accept it for what it is, even if it means coming face to face with your shortcomings.
- Open up to others. Share your feelings with someone you can confide in. Simply sharing can often help to ease some of the stress off your shoulders.
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- Tell the whole story. Allow the person to understand your highs and lows. Let them see how your strengths got you this far. But also share what you think you could have done differently.
- Organize an approach. Now that you’ve offloaded, you’ll have a clearer mind to organize an approach. You’ve stopped at this point for a reason. Now’s your chance to change direction and pull yourself out of this rut.
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- Now that you’ve figured out what went wrong, try to tackle those things first. You’ll want to prevent those things from happening again.
- Surround yourself with positive people. It’s sometimes difficult to take on challenges on your own. As much as you hate to admit it, there are others better at some things than you are! Embrace them and get the support you need to manage stressful situations.
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- Use the strengths of trustworthy people to get you over the hump. Be clear about the role you want them to play. Handing over responsibility can be tough. But be mature enough to understand that it doesn’t take away from your own abilities.
Being in over your head isn’t a death sentence. In fact, it’s a perfect opportunity to be creative in your approach. Once you identify an effective approach, you can expect to handle situations more confidently.
Give yourself the chance to be in control. With positive strategies, you’ll be able to take matters into your own hands and turn them around in no time!
Feeling overwhelmed is not our normal state so you need to have strategies in place to help you overcome this feeling when it occurs.
When you put these strategies in place in your life you will begin to get control over yourself when you feel overwhelmed.
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and we can start the discussion on how we can work together to defeat your sense of overwhelm and move your life forward.
To your success
Michael
