After years of running my business, I concluded that I wanted to run my business from a place of ease. I badly wanted to make it easy.

No overwhelm.

Then I wanted to write more. So I committed to making it happen.

Guess what happened?

Overwhelmed kicked in.

To realize that the ease I was looking for was understanding that growth will always stretch you out of your comfort zone.

Have you ever tried to solve overwhelmed with more tasks?

As a business owner and human, I have because I avoided my emotions.

I didn’t know how to manage them.

I once ended up in burnout.

If you think you will get to a point where you’ll never feel overwhelmed, it’s like you expect yourself not to be human. Every person hits into overwhelm no matter what stage they are at in life or business.

It’s an indicator that something deeper is happening.

Yes, are there tasks for you to handle? Of course.

 

But no task can fix the more profound feeling you are avoiding: fear.

…fear of failing, fear of being too much, fear of success, fear of not knowing enough, fear no one will say yes, fear you won’t be able to do it all, fear people will not like you, etc.

Your fear is the gateway to your freedom.

To hold and embrace yourself, honoring that running a business takes courage.

To hold and embrace yourself, honoring that it takes courage to navigate life while still learning, growing, and improving.

 

Here’s what you can do when feeling overwhelmed.

It will allow you to transform your experience rather than put a band-aid on it with another to-do list.

• Name your feelings without judgment. Ask what I am terrified of right now. What is this really about? 
• Take it one step deeper. If that were to happen, then how would I feel? 
• Explore the sensations in your body. Notice where you feel it in your body. What does fear feel like in your body? Are you clenching your gut? Are you holding your breath? Does your heart feel heavy?
• Be with the sensations. Allow any emotion to come up and feel it.
• Bring compassion. Breathe into your heart and notice the part of you that’s afraid. Ask what does it need from you?
• Get creative. Move your body, shake, sing, dance, or breathe to allow the sensation to move. It’s all just energy. 
• Bring kindness. What would you say to a child or a friend feeling fear? What sorts of things would you offer them?