How have you been?  I hope you’ve had a good week and that any of you with children back at school are enjoying a bit more routine and they’re settling in ok.

Eva is absolutely loving it, whilst simultaneously being shattered and eating constantly from after school to bedtime!  😂

Here I am rocking the outdoor cooking on holiday, complete with tunes and rosé!

I returned to 453 work emails, a diary full of client calls, Eva starting back at school, our financial accounts being due – oh and the small matter of me relaunching my group course this weekend which requires a massive load of tech work and content writing – ooof!!!!!

As we drove back from Folkstone to Devon, I had a few hours to contemplate this impending feeling and think about how I could surf the wave instead of be engulfed by it.

What I’ve learned from my own coaches in the last 2 years is that overwhelm is a choice.  

That might sound ridiculous as all those things are very real and need doing etc. and yet how we approach it mentally, what we tell ourselves about it and how we experience moving through multiple plate-spinning is a choice.

We get what we focus on, so if my mind-talk is constantly affirming, “argh, there’s not enough time, I’m going to feel overwhelmed, how is that all going to get done? What if it doesn’t get done? I don’t want to feel so overwhelmed etc.” then our focus is totally on the feeling of being overwhelmed and then, guess what?  We experience feeling overwhelmed.

Our beliefs and thoughts become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

There’s often a sneaky part of us however that is actually quite addicted to being ‘busy’ and having lots to do or being in constantly-actioning mode.

 

Being still or slowing down means experiencing any negative feelings or worries we may have.

 

It means experiencing any resistant thoughts we have about making changes we would benefit from making, especially if you aren’t sure on the way forward with something or how to approach it, or you’re fearful about the outcome or your ability to make the change.

 

So we remain absolutely rammed to the gunwales with ‘stuff’ to do, urgency and always feeling that ‘there isn’t enough time’.

This is how we unconsciously, and without meaning to, keep actively choosing overwhelm, even though we hate it and don’t enjoy it.

We also tend to put ourselves down the priority list and aren’t getting ourselves set up to be in receiving mode.

What I mean by that is that we may be verbally saying “I would like to receive more income, or have better health or more time with the family” but our actions and choices don’t support that.  We don’t honour ourselves or feel that we deserve to receive those things.

Or we let fear of how we might be perceived, or other people’s priorities and needs in front of our own consistently.

I know where that road leads to.  Burnout.  I very nearly forgot that last winter when I was working towards the initial launch of the group coaching course and this winter, I plan to learn and do it differently.

my autumn manifesto

So what does NOT choosing overwhelm, even in the face of an enormous mountain of tasks, look like?

I’ll share my Autumn manifesto with you and hope it inspires you to create your own.

Pledge Number One

Simplify, cut back, say no, drop non-essential things.    I ALWAYS start here with clients.  The first module on my 6-month signature course the Map Maker Experience is Time & Energy management for that exact reason.

For me that means staying out of people-pleasing mode as I’ve got about 20-odd requests at the moment for potential collaborations, podcasts, article writing, speaking etc. and I will need to say no to most of them which is uncomfortable for me!

But I’ll do it as my time and self-care is so precious and I refuse to choose burnout.

Pledge Number Two

Look at what you’re putting into your body.  Food really is like medicine, and what we eat and drink affects everything including the biggies like energy levels, sleep, mood and weight.

This year with the pandemic, I’ve been feeling less able to stick to my normal healthy eating goals and I’ve been fine with that.  But long term I need to get back on track.

Hello healthy 21 day detox and kale smoothies for breakfast!

I’m doing Clean Gut by Alejandro Junger and actually really enjoying it.  Are there any small tweaks you could make to your diet right now that might help support your body and sleep better?

Pledge Number Three

Declutter your physical environment.

I have a beautiful deck of oracle cards I use as a self-reflection and journaling tool, and this reminds me of the Autumn one.

With this card, it talks about releasing all the pressure and expectation weighing you down.  Just as autumn is the time when the trees are preparing for the long cold winter and must let go of all the weight they are carrying in order to continue to grow and prosper.

For me at the moment, this means using some time each weekend to look at my home space with fresh eyes and looking at what I can let go of and release.

Pledge Number Four

Pledge Number Five

Pledge Number Six