When you are thirsty you…drink.
When you are hungry you…eat.
When you are overwhelmed you?….
In the book “Thresholds of the Mind” by Bill Harris, he quotes the work from Ilya Prigionine, who was a Russian scientist studying physics.
It was noted that in human systems, there are three ways people deal with overwhelm:
- Dissipate Energy: Some people when stressed or overwhelmed try to frantically push the energy out through anger, crying, physical fitness, sex, talking, or anything else that pushes energy out and relieves the pressure
- Blocking Energy: Others will do anything they can to keep more from entering the system by isolating themselves, shutting down, becoming depressed or even becoming ill
- Distraction: Usually while using one of the two strategies above, people will also distract themselves with alcohol, drugs, TV, activity, reading, ‘keeping busy is the theme’.
The idea is to get rid of, stop more, or not even deal with the energy demands.
In a sense, we are doing best to manage the existing energy, like having an 8 ounce glass and only having room for 8 ounces. Any other water coming your way, you either get rid of some in your cup, block out water from coming in, or pretend like new water isn’t even available so you don’t need to make decisions.
All of us do this, to some degree.
A SOULution to overwhelm can begin by exploring the size of your cup, and expanding it’s capacity to hold “life”.
To do this, you will need to reconnect with your own worth and your own capacity. Believe me, it’s completely reasonable to forget about our own greatness, yet when we reconnect with who we are and what we accomplish within our own life, we begin to ‘wear off’ the illusion that we can’t handle things.
If you want a bigger cup START HERE.
- List 100 ways you are an amazing human being, thus far.
- List 100 incredible feats you have done in your life, thus far.
The reason for this, is most of us, to some degree, minimize who we are. In this minimized state, our cup is smaller, we are more judgemental, and more emotionally volatile.
When we expand our mind of who you are, what we do, and our value, we open up, stand up taller, take up more space, and hold our head up higher. This all leads to more resilience and more “room” to handle life.
Sound too easy?
Ask yourself, “why can’t it be?”
Dr. Steve
P.S. Do this monthly and you will notice a big difference, and if you need specific help with your relationships, set up a Discovery Call with us here.
