Overwhelm, Actions & Attitude, and Vogue
Last week I had a jam session with a client who opened the session by sharing, “I’m overwhelmed with uncertainty, people who are all over the map, and the noise in my head.”
I’m hearing similar feedback from many clients right now!
The sense of being overwhelmed—and let’s face it, 2020 is full of overwhelming situations—instantly takes us out of the present moment. I suspect that’s why, of the three things I included in last month’s newsletter, THIS is the one that generated the most “YES! That’s exactly what I need to do” replies:
You need to slow the fuck down.
Slowing down allows us to hit pause, pull up, and get perspective on what’s happening now. (If you’re looking for fresh ideas on how to do that, check out this blog.) When we’re in the now we’re able to utilize this powerful step in my GSD Framework:
There are only two things we truly control: the actions we take, and the attitude we show up with.
It’s that simple—but it takes practice. One of the techniques to develop this practice is asking, “Am I focused on my actions or attitude—or on your actions and attitude?” There’s immediate relief in remembering what I control, and that relief can help me lower the intensity level just long enough to get unstuck and back into action.
I have one more story…
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll recall a recent morning where I woke up feeling overwhelmed and negative. It was not a strong start to the day. After recognizing that the overwhelm was due to things I had exactly zero control over, I did the following:
I created more space during the day. Back-to-back Zoom calls are not helpful when I'm overwhelmed.
I checked in with my pit crew.
I took micro prayer and meditation breaks throughout the day. I love the 1, 2, and 3 minute Breathe exercises on the Headspace app for this.
I reminded myself that today is Tuesday, and all I have to do is Tuesday.
Finally, some days the best attitude I can have is to not take life so seriously. The following day I spent all day at a photoshoot, taking new pictures for my website, speaking engagements, podcasts, social media, etc. Looking at the over 1,400 images from the day there are some absolute gems where I was laughing with the photographer and laughing at myself. The photo atop this blog is a perfect example! (Disclaimer: I had just finished watching season 2 of Pose and was experiencing the ear worm that is Madonna’s Vogue.)
To quote Ms. Ciccone, “Go inside for your finest inspiration. Your dreams will open the door.”
If you’d like to learn more techniques for focusing on what you can control, please follow me on Instagram. Often I’ll post short updates to my Instagram Story with examples of how I’m helping a client with that technique. You can also check out the “Moment Coaching” section in my bio for In the Moment coaching videos. These under two-minute videos often provide examples of techniques to help you return a state of being grounded, regulated, and in the flow.
As always, thanks for stopping by! I hope you found this helpful, and I’d love to hear from you! You can email me at ben@thebenkikergroup.com, or connect with me via Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.