Is it all too much?
What can you do when too much is, honestly, too much?
Lately I’ve noticed there’s just too much…
noise
chaos
emotion
stimulus
Too many…
things
options
choices
And then, of course, there’s just not enough…
quiet
stillness
time
Too much noise, not enough silence.
Too many options, not enough time.
What is Self-Manufactured vs. Other-Manufactured?
Self-Manufactured
School carline can last as long as an hour. During this time it makes sense to bring books and magazines to read, work to do. And then there’s the phone and socials that are constantly at hand.
So I bring all-the-things, and then it dawned on me last week, I’m not doing anything during this hour because I’ve brought too much. I have too many things I could be doing, so I end up scrolling online and wasting time.
As a result of this awareness of having “too much” with me, this week I’ve decided to bring one thing - one book or magazine, one piece of work that needs to be accomplished. And now I’m finding it much easier to focus on the one thing I have with me and make better use of my time.
Other-Manufactured
Maybe you’ve noticed this too…
At the mall…you walk into the first store from the parking lot and you hear music and people talking. And as you approach the interior of the mall, you hear even more music and even more people talking…loudly…because the sound around them is so loud they have to talk louder to be heard by their companion(s).
Or this…
You go out for what is to be a nice dinner…it’s been too long, and you’re excited to find some stillness and silence together so you can enjoy a little conversation and lots of delicious food.
But what you end up with is blaring music overhead triggering overwhelm in the body, like tension in the shoulders and agitation in the veins, and souring of moods because…it’s impossible to talk loud enough to be heard by the person you are dining with. And again, everyone around you is shouting because…
What we wanted was to have a quiet, tasty dinner, not a shouting match after an already busy, noisy, overwhelming week.
We’ve actually stopped eating at one of the best restaurants in town because the music creates such an aggravating environment, it ruins our dinner and our time. Such a bummer.
When the Overwhelm Overwhelms
When all the overwhelming, too much of all-the-things, overwhelms mind, body, and spirit…what is one to do?
First Step
Pause and become aware.
When you stop yourself for a moment and become aware of your surroundings, your mental state, the sensations in your body, you can then become aware of what’s really going on around you.
When you pause to take a snapshot of your in-the-moment inventory - of all the material or emotional things - you can determine if there’s too much noise and stimulus causing you to feel overwhelmed, or not enough space for you to breathe, roam, create.
Second Step
Make a different choice.
Choices are always there, and it’s up to us to make the best choice for ourselves and our loved ones.
Third Step
Create new habits.
Once you are aware and making different choices that support your health, wellbeing, goals, and time, you begin to build new habits.
Fourth Step
Go back to First Step. Repeat.
Final thoughts…
Do you like feeling busy or overwhelmed?
Do you like feeling focused or peaceful?
When was the last time you felt any of these things…busy, overwhelmed, focused, peaceful? What were you doing, who were you with, why do you know you felt this way?
Maybe you’d like to grab your journal and make some notes on…
the prompts above
all the things you’ve been carrying with you (material or emotional) that feel "too much” and what small steps you can begin to take to become aware, make different choices, and create new habits
where you find yourself when you feel a sense of overwhelm, a sense of peace, and what you can do to put yourself in a state of peace more often
one new habit you’d like to create for yourself as we move into the last months of the year…start now and you’ll find yourself well on your way to meeting those goals that seem so far off right now…because there’s just too much overwhelm and not enough time.
What is “too much” for you? Feel free to share your thoughts, awarenesses, and experiences in the comments below! Let’s talk about all-the-too-many-things!!
xoxo Michelle
I’ll mail you a watercolor bookmark of Meditative Mountains when you donate to Asheville non-profit Manna Foodbank! Get the details in the article below!
