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Kaizen-Muse Tools© to Keep Overwhelm Under Control
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 Quiz for feeling Overwhelmed: Check the ones that sound remotely familiar:
FEARS:
~You won’t get it all done
~You will vanish into a puddle of helpless tears
~You won’t get to the things you love to do
~You will disappoint people including yourself
~You’re frustrated because you’re not as productive, effective, or centered as you know you can be.
~You compare yourself to others and feel discouraged, pressured, or completely derailed.
~You don’t know where to start - it seems like there’s too much to
~You feel an uncomfortable amount of pressure.
~You’re avoiding things because the pressure is uncomfortable which increases the overwhelming feelings.
~You feel paralyzed, frozen, and/or helpless.
~Trying to be everything to everyone.
~Listening to all the messages from society, media, magazines, and books/articles that make you feel like you’re behind.
How many did you check? If you checked a bunch, know this... most of us are a little overwhelmed right now. You're not alone. It's a human thing. If you were too overwhelmed to check anything: see if any of the tips below help.
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Humans come with a "negativity bias". It's how we survived on the savanna thousands of years ago, but it's overcompensating these days by causing us to focus on what's wrong with us. Feeling overwhelmed is a feeling of not doing enough or not being able to even do anything. Shift over to what you are doing right.
1.You're not the Lone Ranger
If you're overwhelmed, welcome to the club. About 89.9 percent of the population is right now. Breathe, become present, and know that you belong to the human race - it's natural to be overwhelmed especially right now.
2. Inventory of Things Done
Take an inventory of what you've done on the project eliciting overwhelm. This helps you see you already are in a process you can continue and you may discover you're more well on your way than you thought. You create the feeling of being in a momentum rather that starting over all the time.
3. Kaizen-Muse Credit Report ©
Make a list of things you're glad you've done lately. It may overlap with number two, but go beyond what you've done for a particular object and include all you've done that has felt good to do.
4. Empower Yourself with a Memory and Trust.
You've been overwhelmed before and gotten through it. You'll get through it again. Did anything work in the past? Can you do it again? What else would work?
5. A List
Make a list of what needs to be done. Choose something that energizes you the most, break it down to a small step - as small as 30 seconds. The momentum you gain in one area will motivate you to take small steps in other areas. Cross-off or postpone things on that list that you can really do without or can wait.
6. Self-Talk
Instead of saying "I have to..." or "I should ..." see what it feels like to say, "I get to..." There's a shift in energy moving from dread to gratitude, drained energy to renewed energy.
7. Get Support
Enlist the help of a Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach - It's all about compassion, small steps, intuition, and holding the space for you DURING the session to get things done. Includes personalized guided mindfulness practices. email or message me for a referral or short, free information session.
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 For The Muse is in Workshops, Retreats, and Trainings, beam yourself here.
Complimentary Parallel Universe Time: Going on 12 years
PUT is holding the space for each other to focus on our own work in distractible times. It's a grounding feeling that makes focusing easier. You're invited. Just keep this link in a place you can find it and click on it. Bring something you want to work on, I'll be holding the space for you to do just that, distraction-free.
8:30a pacific, 9:30a mtn, 10:30a central, and 11:30a eastern on Mondays. Let me know if you want to be put on the reminder list that goes out every Sunday evening. https://zoom.us/j/887946679
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Jill Badonsky, M.Ed., Creator and trainer of Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching Training (since 2004), author/illustrator of four books on creativity, multimedia artist, internationally recognized retreat leader, yoga/mindfulness teacher, inspirational humorist, creative mindfulness teacher, poet, and cat servant.
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