“If you believe you can do something, you can. There is only one way. With a very good attitude, positive thinking, hard work and dedication. With these four things together.” ~ Seve Ballesteros
Hello friend!
How are you?
At the beginning of 2022, I set myself a goal to create and launch my first online course. I wanted to teach beginner entrepreneurs what I know about digital marketing and share with them my secret formula for how I help my 1-1 clients grow their businesses online.
It took me a few months of procrastinating and overthinking this. There was always something getting in my way: my all-or-nothing perfectionist mindset, my inner critic telling me I don’t know enough to teach others, my tendency to compare myself to others… All of this caused me to feel overwhelmed to the point I didn’t know anymore where to start!
Eventually, I sat down with my coach and we created a plan of action with very simple steps I could easily tackle week by week and so in August, I launched my course!
Understanding what kept me stuck was the key to eventually ignoring all the excuses and moving forward.
In this blog article, I delve into the four main causes of overwhelm and explore effective strategies to overcome them. Drawing from personal experience, I address perfectionism, self-doubt, overthinking, and people-pleasing as common culprits that hinder progress.
Discover how understanding these causes can empower you to break free from overwhelm and take confident strides towards your goals.
4 main causes of the overwhelm.
1) PERFECTIONISM
Whatever you are doing, you have to do it to the best of your ability. It’s great to set the bar high, but throwing yourself 100% into everything you do, whether it’s important or not, it s a classic recipe for overwhelm.
For me even admitting I was struggling felt like a failure but eventually, I decided to experiment with ‘good enough’ for a while. I started recording videos without too much overthinking and posting them on my YouTube channel. Are they perfect? No! But done is better than perfect because after all, I would much prefer to have 20 imperfect videos and learn as I go rather than craft tirelessly 1 perfect video in hiding.
2) SELF-DOUBT
You may seem confident but can quickly feel out of your depth, as you constantly question your abilities. When things are going well, you experience a blissful period of feeling in control, but it only takes a minor argument with a partner or work colleague for self-doubt to set in again, robbing your peace of mind.
Self-doubt may be a familiar shadow that you grew up with, but it’s your internal, rather than your external, world that’s at the root of your overwhelm. You can’t do anything about the past or what other people think of you, but you can change your relationship with yourself.
Start by asking, ‘How different would my life be if I truly believed I am completely enough?”
3) OVERTHINKING
As overthinkers, we have a tendency to get stuck in ‘preparation’ mode, over-researching and so we start feeling overwhelmed.
I have rather a simple approach to this now. One: I just distract myself from ruminating thoughts. Two: I focus on “let’s just do it”, rather than ‘let’s overthink it’. Alternatively, once you are in the zone of acting on your tasks, your mind will be too busy with finding the solutions, not creating problems.
4) PEOPLE-PLEASING
There’s much in life you’d like to say no to, but you find the idea of letting people down intolerable. Do tend to put yourself out in an effort to spare someone else from being upset or inconvenienced?
The truth is, at the heart of the fear of disapproval, or missing out, is often a poor sense of self. Those with vocal inner criticism also have a heightened fear of being judged by others.
Remember though, if YOU can cope with disappointment or inconvenience, then why can’t other people?
By acknowledging the causes of overwhelm, such as perfectionism, self-doubt, overthinking, and people-pleasing, we can develop strategies to combat them effectively. Embracing imperfection, cultivating self-belief, taking action over analysis, and setting healthy boundaries are key steps towards overcoming overwhelm. Embrace these insights and regain control of your journey, moving forward with clarity and confidence.
