Do you ever feel that there’s so much you need to do, but you’re lacking the time or energy to get everything done?
The responsibilities of family, work, and life in general can all pile up and lead to an unpleasant feeling of stress and overwhelm. Without healthy boundaries or tools for managing such demands, the responsibilities of life can quickly deplete your vitality. Not only does this negatively impact your well-being, but it makes it more challenging to accomplish the tasks before you.
In this blog, you’ll learn a few practical tips for overcoming overwhelm so you can embrace life’s responsibilities with energy and confidence. These can be applied both to your personal life as well as work. All of these tips are based on the principles and wisdom that Chinese Medicine and Qi Gong offer us.
It’s easy to look at the triggers that make you feel overwhelmed and confuse them for the root causes of overwhelm. However, there’s an important distinction between the external factors that contribute to overwhelm and the internal feeling that you experience.
Overwhelm is a feeling that exists within you. External factors can certainly contribute to overwhelm, but you have a lot of control within yourself when it comes to staying grounded and centered while facing life’s demands.
One of the most powerful ways to protect yourself from feeling overwhelmed is to establish a strong foundation within yourself. When you take some time to slow down and reconnect to your center, you‘re less vulnerable to go about your daily activities with greater confidence and clarity. This instills within you a sense of resilience and empowerment that enables you to stay calm and collected even when you’re looking at a long to-do list.
Generally, it’s best to establish your inner foundation before tackling your external responsibilities. As airplane flight attendants say, you must first put on your own oxygen mask before trying to help anyone else.
Have you ever felt clear and confident as you start a busy day, but then that confidence fades as the afternoon approaches?
Even if you start your day off on the right foot, it’s important to frequently replenish your internal energy so you don’t become overwhelmed or depleted.
During the first few hours of the day, you may feel that you do not need to take breaks. However, it’s still important to pause your activities to recharge your energy system. If you wait too long to take breaks, you have a much greater chance of feeling overwhelmed later in the day.
Taking a break can be as simple as standing up and moving your body for a few minutes as you look out the window at the world around you. Taking a short walk or having a conversation with friends are a few additional ways to unplug from your responsibilities.
To a certain extent, the feeling of overwhelm occurs when your mind becomes overly consumed with whatever responsibilities you’re focused on. When you take a break and direct your attention elsewhere, it helps broaden your perspective so you can see the larger picture. This helps you release any feelings of stress or overwhelm.
Another key element to overcoming overwhelm is to set clear boundaries. If you’re always saying “yes” to everything, you’ll likely find yourself on a quick path to burnout. Not only does this feel terrible, but ironically it leads to you being able to do less.
In order to avoid this pitfall, it’s important to become comfortable saying “no.” If you’re able to discern which opportunities you want to pursue and which you want to turn down, you’ll feel more at ease in daily living. Additionally, you’ll likely find that you have more time and energy than you thought you did, since now you’re not tied up with an endless to-do list.
If you’re a “yes” person, this step may feel difficult at first. However, you’ll soon realize how much more spacious your life feels when you set clear boundaries.
Qi Gong is a practice that can help you apply the principles discussed above by using slow, flowing movements that mirror the movements of nature. The practice empowers you to establish a strong foundation within yourself and cultivate resilience against stress, anxiety, and overwhelm.
When you practice Qi Gong, it helps you reconnect to yourself on a deep and transformative level. Instead of reacting to the world around you, you’re able to feel calm yet energized, which is the perfect mindstate for facing life’s responsibilities.
Additionally, Qi Gong teaches you how to set clear and effective boundaries. Part of this is based on developing a powerful, in-the-moment understanding of your own personal needs. Then, it helps you have the confidence and volition to say “no” when you’re faced with activities that don’t align with your true intentions. This makes it and excellent practice for staying grounded and avoiding overwhelm, giving you more strength to take on the responsibilities that life throws at you.
If you’re interested in discovering Qi Gong for yourself, be sure to check out our Thirty-Day Qi Gong Challenge.
The Thirty-Day Qi Gong Challenge includes thirty unique Qi Gong routines that are each just seven minutes long. This makes it easy to start your day with a quick yet powerful practice, as well as use the routines for short “Qi” breaks throughout your day.
Although seven minutes isn’t long, it’s enough time to establish a strong foundation within yourself and transform your energy system. After you complete the Thirty-Day Challenge, you’ll know a variety of powerful practices that you can use in everyday life.
