Feeling Overwhelmed? Self-help author Paul Boynton says, “Join the Club!”

Posted on February 25, 2020 by Erin Falconer | CATEGORIES: featured, psychology, self-improvement, success, time management

As founder of the BEGIN WITH YES Facebook community with over two million followers and the author of several motivational books including my newest book, BE AMAZING, people automatically assume I have everything well under control. After all, I’m the expert! There’s no way I could ever feel overwhelmed, or ‘stuck’ or even the slightest bit stressed or off-kilter. I must meet my personal goals with ease and my dreams materialize with little or no effort. Understandably, people who are struggling mightily would welcome any and all easy answers from the motivational gurus of the universe who promise to lay out the roadmap to easily overcome life’s most challenging hurdles.

If that’s what you’re looking for in a mentor or self-help soldier, I hate to break it to you. That’s certainly not my life and it’s definitely not my day-to-day reality. Sure, if I had that magic bullet that would solve all the world’s problems, it would definitely help my book sales! But it just wouldn’t be the truth and let’s face it – that’s no help to either one of us. That being said, because I know what ‘overwhelming’ feels like and because it’s been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, I have learned some fairly easy strategies to get beyond it that I believe will work for you too.

So, first of all, join the club. You’re in good company! Acknowledging that things are on pause for you is a great place to begin the process of getting unstuck. The pause actually tells us that you have places you want to go and things you want to accomplish and I, for one, think that’s very good news.

And with that good news, let me share a few easy suggestions that will help and some attainable steps you can take to get the train running and back on-track again.

  1. Take a deep breath and acknowledge you’re feeling stuck or overwhelmed. I like to remind myself that a GPS or navigation app on our phones can only help us get to a desired destination when first we establish a clear starting place. And your starting place is exactly where you are right now: overwhelmed.
  2. Now would be a good time to remember that feeling overwhelmed is a common feeling and especially so for folks who have things – often many things – they want to get done and many dreams they hope to make happen. That’s good news, so be sure to own what your mission is and then take another deep breath. And after that last calming breath, acknowledge that feeling overwhelmed is just that…a feeling. And because overwhelmed is just a feeling rather than an actual place, we can relax even more because feelings, after all, come and go, and this too, will pass.
  3. I have learned that it’s perfectly okay to sit for a while with the feelings we have. You do not have to solve or resolve that emotional traffic jam today. It’s important to keep it in perspective because you certainly don’t need the added pressure of trying to find a quick-fix. This will only accentuate your anxiety and exacerbate your frustration! So, cut

yourself some slack, and stop trying to push your way through it! Let it ebb and flow all

on its own.

  1. Now divert your attention to something more mundane. Make the bed, clean out that pesky junk drawer, take your dog for a walk, or meet a friend for a movie or coffee. Stop trying to make something big happen and instead, just do something small and easy for right now.
  2. When you’ve caught your breath for a moment, try to make a list of all the things you are trying to tackle at once. It could be a short list or a long one, but you’ll soon see that trying to do too much at once is a sure-fire way to short-circuit progress.
  3. Now it’s time to get focused. Choose one primary goal from your master list. Maybe it’s learning how to speak a new language or how to get a new job or write a book or make a move to a brand-new town. Make this your temporary focus. I totally understand that you have a lot of competing things that must get done or that you want to accomplish, but if you try to bake a cake WHILE folding the laundry AND driving to work…well, you get the point. Feeling overwhelmed soon dissipates when you learn to manage or regulate what you’re trying to accomplish. One-thing-at-a-time works much better than a-million-things-at-once.
  4. Now ask yourself, “What’s a small, realistic step I can actually take right now to make progress on whatever goal I’m focused on?” Then take that one, small step. Suddenly you’ll realize you’re moving again! And if it feels right, take another small step, and even another.
  5. Then, depending on what’s on your plate, turn your attention to another reasonable goal and repeat the same “think of a small step and take it” process. Now you’re actually making some real progress! Soon you will happily discover that the cake will get baked, the laundry will get folded and the drive to work can all happen – just not all at once.

Feeling overwhelmed is just like an emotional traffic jam. But with the right strategies in place, you’ll be able to implement some simple traffic controls and rewire your GPS to help you move forward in a logical, reasonable and manageable way.

Take it easy, be gentle with yourself, take plenty of breaths and don’t presume you’ll be able to learn that new language in a single day. Instead celebrate learning a new phrase or two, and then get started on that cake!

Paul S. Boynton is the author of several books including Amazon bestseller Begin with Yes, around which he has built an extraordinarily engaged audience of over two million followers. A true force of nature and popular keynote speaker, Paul is also President and CEO of The Moore Center, an organization serving people with intellectual disabilities. His writing has frequently been featured in the Huffington Post, the NH Business Review and The Good Men’s Project. Paul has degrees in both social work and counseling. He lives with his partner, and their dog Toby in New Hampshire, and spends much of his free time visiting his three adult children and their families. Paul’s latest book, Be Amazing, is available online at Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com, and IndieBound.org.

GET THE BOOK BY
ERIN FALCONER!

Erin shows overscheduled, overwhelmed women how to do less so that they can achieve more. Traditional productivity books—written by men—barely touch the tangle of cultural pressures that women feel when facing down a to-do list. How to Get Sh*t Done will teach you how to zero in on the three areas of your life where you want to excel, and then it will show you how to off-load, outsource, or just stop giving a damn about the rest.

614 Responses to Feeling Overwhelmed? Self-help author Paul Boynton says, “Join the Club!”

  1. Acompanhantes Goiania says:
    May 13, 2020 at 8:39 am

    Muito bom o site parabens.
    Amo esse site.
    Acompanhantes de Goiânia

  2. Sam Jewel says:
    May 18, 2020 at 6:24 pm

    What exactly does it mean when you say being self-overwhelmed?

  3. ACOMPANHANTES SÃO PAULO says:
    May 26, 2020 at 11:40 pm

    EU ADORO ESSE BLOG, SUPER INDICO PARA UMA BOA LEITURA!
    PARABÉNS!!!

  4. fonad gorman says:
    August 24, 2020 at 9:59 pm

    I want a post at this site

  323. aNatashap9202zk says:
    November 17, 2020 at 10:39 pm

    Revolutional update of captcha solving software “XRumer 19.0 + XEvil 5.0”:

    Captchas breaking of Google (ReCaptcha-2 and ReCaptcha-3), Facebook, BitFinex, Bing, Hotmail, SolveMedia, Yandex,
    and more than 12000 another size-types of captchas,
    with highest precision (80..100%) and highest speed (100 img per second).
    You can use XEvil 5.0 with any most popular SEO/SMM software: iMacros, XRumer, SERP Parser, GSA SER, RankerX, ZennoPoster, Scrapebox, Senuke, FaucetCollector and more than 100 of other programms.

    Interested? There are a lot of demo videos about XEvil in YouTube.

    FREE DEMO AVAILABLE!

    Good luck 😉

  325. kamagrap.com says:
    November 17, 2020 at 11:24 pm

    find internal medicine doctor blood pressure tea
    kamagra pills
    kamagra pink pills for women

  363. pozamkamFam says:
    November 24, 2020 at 1:33 pm

    Когда обычный человек сталкивается с тем что потерял ключи или замок был случайно или умышленно выведен из строя мы готовы прийти на помощь и вскрыть ваш замок. Вскрытие замков может происходить как с помощью слесарного инструмента, так и профессиональных отмычек – это зависит от типа замка, его модели и каждый наш мастер знает как работать с тем или иным видом замка. Все что вам нужно сделать – это оформить вызов и подождать некоторое время прибытия мастера по замкам. Мастер поедет к вам обязательно, в каждом районе Москвы работает по несколько мастеров по вскрытию замков от нашей компании. После вскрытия замка мы поможем вам в закупке комплектующих и установке нового более надежного замка для вашей двери.

    замена личинки mul t lock

  366. JamesDuape says:
    November 24, 2020 at 6:34 pm

    САмое эффективное для продаж – Pinterest. Сотни Продаж на Etsy, amazon, ebay, shopify за 2 месяца при ср.цене чека 300 usd https://youtu.be/GNOZtXGGM-I

  375. lillianje69 says:
    November 25, 2020 at 9:13 am

    Hot new pictures each day
    http://porn.athletes.allproblog.com/?sydnee

    forced sex free porn videos community porn sites porn videos droid just dirty porn freckle porn star

  381. darrenmu2 says:
    November 25, 2020 at 6:50 pm

    Hot galleries, daily updated collections
    http://tumblr.lesbian.bestsexyblog.com/?jordyn

    free mofo porn free jenna soft pornvideos red head porn video download hd porn catgirl porn free

  411. Kennethlom says:
    November 27, 2020 at 8:18 pm

    Интересная новость
    _________________
    kasyna z bonusem bez depozytu

  423. HelpBot24Kiz says:
    November 28, 2020 at 4:37 pm


    Базы в целях брута – спама и аналогично прочих Любых планов.
    Мгновенное приобретение он-лайн. Онлайн Телеграм бот автопродаж @HelpBot24_bot
    Имеются базы данных в формате майл—пасс с доступом по IMAP / POP3 / СМТП
    Mail листы разных стран в целях рассылки Ваших предложений / спама
    С нами Выгодно вести сотрудничество!
    Постоянным клиентам существенные скидки!
    Постоянно в продаже новые базы, а ещё софт для их более качественного применения
    Если уж потребны выборки по определенным странам, пишите по контактным данным телеграм бота
    Выдача в режиме сразу после поступления средств. Посодействуем с нужным приватным софтом

  424. najnasFam says:
    November 28, 2020 at 9:19 pm

    Форель от производителя:
    выращенная в чистых водах Вернетуломского водохранилища, водоем высшей категории. На высококачественных финских кормах!

    Узнать подробнее:
    форель на пару

  425. Leonardkit says:
    November 28, 2020 at 10:34 pm

    САмое эффективное для продаж – Pinterest. Смотрите Видео пример продаж: Сотни Продаж на Etsy, amazon, ebay, shopify за 2 месяца при ср.цене чека 300 usd https://youtu.be/GNOZtXGGM-I

  450. Andrewwew says:
    November 30, 2020 at 2:25 pm

    Webcam of Moscow online The noisy and fussy life of the Grand city of the world’s largest power watch using “webcam of Moscow online”.

  455. Johnnyecows says:
    November 30, 2020 at 9:44 pm

    Интересный пост
    _________________
    betfair скачки отзывы

  456. Antonioaroft says:
    November 30, 2020 at 9:53 pm

    Ikfdsdjsdjsi jfidhjdaoskdoshfisjdo jifjowdoajdiwhfiwjdc iwjfihgiehfoswjfiegiefhwij ififvjifhihfiwsjkcoshjvigedh jfijsfocsfcisfjiehdfiwsjo jfowsjfdowsufiwsfihdsicsi https://mail.ru/?yriwutrueyeiwiryeuriweieutgdjhcjskfjdugvudjfishd

  457. JamesDuape says:
    December 1, 2020 at 2:08 am

    САмое эффективное для продаж – Pinterest. Dbltj – Сотни Продаж на Etsy, amazon, ebay, shopify за 2 месяца при ср.цене чека 300 usd https://youtu.be/GNOZtXGGM-I

  475. Errnz89 says:
    December 2, 2020 at 9:06 am

    infuse and his female parent flaming on 744 dollars a month – this is the social security the one’s nearest receives. A colossal share of this pelf goes to medicines and supplies, the balance to blanket utility bills and food. The children has no pelf after rehabilitation. The plight is a little rescued by the videos, which are filmed and published by the online pharmacy rehabilitation center.

  495. erickagd18 says:
    December 3, 2020 at 12:31 pm

    Hot galleries, daily updated collections
    http://lesbianpornpics.relayblog.com/?nikki

    free porn young pussy porn greetings card porn teen women homemade amature porn videos for free rubber lesbian porn

  501. PursoVa says:
    December 3, 2020 at 8:04 pm

    Cialis 40 Mg Dosage Treapy buy cheap cialis discount online sedpouro Producto Propecia Finasteride

  506. Abadon says:
    December 4, 2020 at 1:42 pm

    Изготовление уличного освещения.
    Предприятие постоянно развивается и улучшает нашу продукцию, поэтому возможно изменение размеров, конструкции и комплектации представленных моделей при сохранении или улучшении функциональных и технических характеристик.
    Разработка МАФов для комплексного благоустройства города (скамейки уличные парковые, урны, вазоны.

    Фонари для парков – это важная часть проекта. Выбор фонарей для улицы
    Особенности уличного освещения улицы имеет свои определенные характеристики.

  509. juanahn11 says:
    December 4, 2020 at 6:54 pm

    Hot photo galleries blogs and pictures
    http://eroticbdsm.datingsex.hotblognetwork.com/?olivia

    teenie porn free young ladies fdree porn lesbian porn movies anal tmobile wing porn porn torrents fre

  510. StephenDex says:
    December 4, 2020 at 7:31 pm

    Я лет 10 прогоняю на Хрумере Белые, Серые и почти любые темы. Пример работы и тел. здесь https://youtu.be/jsxku7eus6E Звоните. Антибан гарантирован. Гугл “любит” хрумер. Ahrefs- у все нравится. Минимум 2000 качественных обратных ссылок. Было и 20 000 + Рост домена + объявления на форумах

  524. cgsydjyto says:
    December 5, 2020 at 10:23 pm

    вполне себе годнота
    _________________
    бк с прогнозами