1500: How to Overcome Overwhelm As You Start Your Business by Stephen Warley of Life Skills That Matter

[00:00:00] S.: Dieser komplexe Finanzierungstalk ist ganz schön anstrengend. Ob ich mein Depot jemals angelegt kriege?

[00:00:06] S.: Aber du hast doch schon ein Depot. S.: Äh, nee. S.: Doch, du hast das Vodafone Gigadepot. S.: Ach, stimmt! Und da habe ich ja selbst in der Hand, wie groß mein Depot ist.

[00:00:15] S.: Jetzt mit dem Vodafone Gigadepot und verbrauchtes Datenvolumen in den nächsten Monat mitnehmen. Go on im zuverlässigen 5G-Netz von Vodafone. Vodafone. Together we can.

[00:00:26] S.: Kundenservice kontaktieren? Für viele Menschen ist das der beste Weg, einen schönen Tag zu ruinieren.

[00:00:32] S.: Aber bei Sendesk sorgen wir für eine bessere Customer Experience. Besser für die Großmutter, besser für die Floristin, besser für den jungen Mann in Hausnummer 3a.

[00:00:41] S.: Besser für sie, besser für alle. Denn während einige behaupten, dass der Kunde immer Recht hat, sagen wir, dass KundInnen immer Menschen sind.

[00:00:48] S.: Und da wir auch Menschen sind, wollen wir etwas Gutes für uns alle tun. Sendesk. Customer Experience mit KI für Menschen gemacht.

[00:00:56] S.: Das ist Optimal Work Daily. Wie zu überwältigen, als Sie starten Ihr Business.

[00:01:02] S.: Stephen Worley von LifeSkillsThatMatter.com

[00:01:06] S.: Learning how to overcome overwhelm is an essential life skill for any startup solopreneur.

[00:01:13] S.: Getting overwhelmed is unavoidable. It's just part of your journey.

[00:01:17] S.: I'm overwhelmed is the most frequent statement uttered by our accelerator members over the course of our 30-day solopreneur startup program.

[00:01:24] S.: I remind them, feeling overwhelmed is perfectly normal as you get your business off the ground. Don't avoid it. Learn from it.

[00:01:32] S.: I've been working for myself for 20 plus years and I still get overwhelmed more than I care to admit.

[00:01:38] S.: I still get overwhelmed when I overestimate the amount of time and energy I have to get all the work I want to get done.

[00:01:44] S.: When I experience a setback, make a mistake or outright fail. I have too many ideas and I'm not quite sure which one to focus on.

[00:01:52] S.: I say yes more than I should say no. I don't get enough rest. I'm learning something new for the very first time. I don't know where or how to get started on a new project.

[00:02:01] S.: I receive a lot of negative energy from other people. I give in to my money issues and start to worry about money.

[00:02:08] S.: Or when I start comparing myself to others and don't feel worthy.

[00:02:12] S.: I once stayed awake for 36 hours straight without drugs of any kind because I was so overwhelmed by several challenges I was experiencing with my work.

[00:02:21] S.: You'd think after 20 years of dealing with overwhelm it would disappear at some point. It doesn't. You just get better at recognizing it more quickly, reducing how often it occurs, and moving through it more productively.

[00:02:33] S.: What does feeling overwhelmed feel like to you? I get a tightness in my chest and sometimes even a pain in my upper left chest.

[00:02:44] S.: My mind is almost always racing with a jumble of thoughts or gets trapped in one loop of unproductive thought.

[00:02:51] S.: Honestly, I feel trapped. I feel like I've run out of options or have no options at all.

[00:02:56] S.: Sometimes my overwhelm is super intense and other times it passes as soon as it comes on.

[00:03:02] S.: The better you understand how you feel when you are getting overwhelmed, the quicker you can do something about it.

[00:03:07] S.: Too many people are unaware they are experiencing overwhelm. They let it take over.

[00:03:12] S.: As they give in to more and more intense feelings of overwhelm, they become more afraid and may even send themselves into a full-blown panic attack.

[00:03:20] S.: I've been there and it's no fun.

[00:03:22] S.: I believe it's important to also note overwhelm is not an exclusively negative feeling. It can also be a positive one.

[00:03:29] S.: People often feel overwhelmed by emotion when they instantly fall into good fortune.

[00:03:34] S.: They also get overwhelmed when they experience something they never thought they would, like meeting one of their heroes, or landing a dream job, or finding their soulmate.

[00:03:42] S.: Your body's stop and reflect response.

[00:03:46] S.: Feeling overwhelmed is a good thing. That's right. It's your body's way of paying attention when you're not paying attention.

[00:03:53] S.: Those feelings of overwhelm are your body's way of communicating with you. It's telling you to stop, slow down, or having trouble keeping up.

[00:04:00] S.: I like to think of feeling overwhelmed as your body's stop and reflect response.

[00:04:05] S.: Your body triggers intense emotion to grab your attention. It's asking you to stop, to reflect, and to make a better choice or savor a big moment in your life.

[00:04:14] S.: Your body wants you to pay attention when…

[00:04:17] S.: You are running low on energy. Your attention is spread too thin to focus on any one thing.

[00:04:23] S.: You are receiving more sensory information than your brain can handle. You experience physical or emotional pain.

[00:04:29] S.: You struggle to comprehend something that has never happened to you before. You are feeling out of alignment with your values.

[00:04:35] S.: Or when you are faced with an unfamiliar situation or challenge. When you don't know when to stop to reflect on your situation, your body will do whatever it takes to stop you in your tracks.

[00:04:46] S.: How to overcome overwhelm in five steps.

[00:04:50] S.: Here is a five-step process for how to overcome overwhelm by paying attention to your needs.

[00:04:56] S.: 1. Stop. The first and most important step is to stop. Recognize you're feeling overwhelmed.

[00:05:03] S.: If you don't, you're more likely to increase the intensity of the feelings you're experiencing.

[00:05:07] S.: Again, it's important to become aware of what feeling overwhelmed feels like to you so you can see it coming sooner.

[00:05:14] S.: 2. Breathe. When you are feeling overwhelmed, you are less likely to be thinking clearly.

[00:05:20] S.: Trigger your body's natural relaxation response by taking a deep breath right down into your belly. Then release it slowly.

[00:05:28] S.: Repeat that several times until you feel the intensity of your emotions starting to wane.

[00:05:32] S.: From a biological perspective, when you feel overwhelmed, your body's nervous system is being overloaded.

[00:05:38] S.: Taking deep breaths reduces arousal in the brain. Your slow breaths slow down your brain.

[00:05:43] S.: And the pace of your breath changes your state of mind.

[00:05:47] S.: 3. Ask why.

[00:05:49] S.: Once you're no longer feeling overwhelmed, ask yourself,

[00:05:53] S.: Why do I feel overwhelmed right now? What do I think caused this feeling?

[00:05:57] S.: Remember, your body made you feel overwhelmed because it wants you to pay attention to a need that isn't being met,

[00:06:02] S.: Or your brain is being overstimulated.

[00:06:04] S.: Give your body what it needs, greater clarity and more information.

[00:06:08] S.: 4. Reflect. As you begin to understand what triggered your overwhelm,

[00:06:14] S.: Explore all the different ways you can fully resolve this feeling.

[00:06:17] S.: What physical needs weren't being met?

[00:06:19] S.: Do you need food, rest, water, cooler or warmer temperature?

[00:06:24] S.: Were you overstimulated?

[00:06:26] S.: Are there external stimuli like noise or light you need to reduce?

[00:06:29] S.: Was your mind racing about particular thoughts?

[00:06:32] S.: Did you have too much caffeine?

[00:06:34] S.: Were you experiencing too much unfamiliarity?

[00:06:37] S.: Your brain loves certainty. It craves a sure thing.

[00:06:40] S.: If you are trying to make a big change in your life, or try something completely new for the first time,

[00:06:46] S.: There is a high probability your brain is going to trigger your stop and reflect response.

[00:06:51] S.: 5. Take a step.

[00:06:53] S.: Now that you have a general idea about what made you feel overwhelmed,

[00:06:57] S.: Brainstorm some next possible steps.

[00:07:00] S.: Don't take a big leap.

[00:07:01] S.: Take a small, manageable step to move you away from your feelings of overwhelm.

[00:07:05] S.: This is what your body has been trying to tell you.

[00:07:08] S.: Stop, slow down, and make a more intentional choice.

[00:07:11] S.: Choose to overcome overwhelm instead of riding the wave of overwhelm.

[00:07:16] S.: How to feel less overwhelmed.

[00:07:19] S.: You are definitely going to feel overwhelmed along your solopreneur path, as I indicated at the beginning of this post.

[00:07:25] S.: See it coming so you can do something about it.

[00:07:28] S.: Here are some ways to overcome overwhelm.

[00:07:31] S.: 1. Recognize your comfort zone boundaries.

[00:07:35] S.: Take a moment to reflect on common overwhelm triggers.

[00:07:38] S.: How can you start challenging your limiting beliefs about yourself?

[00:07:42] S.: How can you start expanding your comfort zone boundaries?

[00:07:45] S.: 2. Break down your actions.

[00:07:48] S.: How often do you get overwhelmed by starting a big project because you just don't know where to begin?

[00:07:54] S.: Start by clearly understanding why you need to do this project.

[00:07:58] S.: What actions do you need to take?

[00:07:59] S.: Make a list of them.

[00:08:01] S.: Make a list of questions you have about moving forward on your project.

[00:08:04] S.: You can't take all of the required actions at once, so what's the very first action you need to take?

[00:08:10] S.: Then what's the next one?

[00:08:11] S.: Continue from there.

[00:08:13] S.: It's really that simple.

[00:08:14] S.: 3. Support your mental health.

[00:08:17] S.: If you are feeling overwhelmed on a regular basis, stop and ask yourself, why?

[00:08:22] S.: What can you do about it?

[00:08:24] S.: What are your choices?

[00:08:25] S.: What activities can you do to feel more relaxed?

[00:08:28] S.: How can you settle your mind?

[00:08:30] S.: 4. Take care of your physical body.

[00:08:33] S.: Your body can take a lot, until it can't.

[00:08:36] S.: You will be able to deal with overwhelm so much more effectively if you regularly get a good night's sleep, eat healthy foods, and move your body.

[00:08:44] S.: 5. Learn from overwhelm.

[00:08:47] S.: The most common reaction to feeling overwhelmed is to deny it's happening to you.

[00:08:52] S.: I'll admit it's made me feel weak in the past.

[00:08:55] S.: I now understand it can make me stronger by getting more curious about it.

[00:08:58] S.: Overwhelm can help you understand what's really holding you back and your options for overcoming challenges facing you.

[00:09:05] S.: Too many people are feeling more and more overwhelmed because we've deluded ourselves into thinking we need to do everything ourselves.

[00:09:13] S.: We're chronically anxious about squeezing the most from every minute of the day.

[00:09:17] S.: Want to overcome overwhelm?

[00:09:19] S.: Slow down.

[00:09:20] S.: Do less.

[00:09:22] S.: Do what matters most to you.

[00:09:25] S.: You just listened to the post titled, How to Overcome Overwhelm as you start your business, by Stephen Worley of LifeSkillsThatMatter.com.

[00:09:36] S.: This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

[00:09:39] S.: We're all marveled at how quickly kids learn and that sense of wonderment they have while doing it.

[00:09:44] S.: But as adults, sometimes we lose that curiosity.

[00:09:47] S.: Well, if there's something you've been wanting to learn, know that therapy can help you reconnect with your sense of wonder.

[00:09:53] S.: Because your back-to-school era can come at any age.

[00:09:56] S.: And make no mistake, therapy is for everyone.

[00:10:00] S.: Whether or not you've been through significant trauma,

[00:10:03] S.: Therapy can be a great tool for setting boundaries, learning new skills, and ultimately becoming the best version of yourself.

[00:10:08] S.: If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try.

[00:10:12] S.: It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule.

[00:10:17] S.: Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist,

[00:10:21] S.: and switch therapists any time for no additional charge.

[00:10:24] S.: Rediscover your curiosity with BetterHelp.

[00:10:27] S.: Visit BetterHelp.com slash WorkDaily today to get 10% off your first month.

[00:10:32] S.: That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P.com slash WorkDaily.

[00:10:37] S.: OrtoMolImmun is your partner for immune systems.

[00:10:41] S.: And so this can work on free, unremo Thanat, difficult resources to use in my daily health.

[00:10:46] S.: OrtoMolImmun is a nutrient-free supplementary for autumnatal support,

[00:10:52] With important nutrients like vitamin C, D, and Zink as a contribution to a normal function of immune system.

[00:10:58] S.: An important approach to a normal system.

[00:10:59] Salero and inform yourself and ensure your cost-free study product.

[00:11:04] Paul Ben. And thank you to Stephen for giving us permission to narrate from his blog. You can come

[00:11:09] visit his site, which I have linked in this episode's description, and also at oldpodcast.com.

[00:11:14] He started Life Skills That Matter in 2016 to show you how work is changing as you know it,

[00:11:20] and how you can change work to your advantage. He's been working for himself since getting

[00:11:25] laid off on election day in 2000, and he's obsessed with researching and experimenting

[00:11:30] with alternative ways of working. And now he makes enough money to live the life he wants to live

[00:11:35] without losing his mind from overworking. He also has a podcast where he's interviewed over 500 people

[00:11:41] who have made the transformation to self-employment. It's called Life Skills That Matter Podcast,

[00:11:46] and you can also find that on his site, which again is lifeskillsthatmatter.com.

[00:11:51] And that does it for today here on Optimal Startup Daily. Hope you have a happy Friday and good start

[00:11:55] to your weekend. As always, I thank you so much for being here and for subscribing,

[00:12:00] and I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.