If you are overwhelmed, why?  Have you accounted for the things pushing you into your overwhelmed state? Perhaps you should.

We can get to the overwhelmed state easily when we don’t take control of our own lives.  We become pray to external forces when we allow others to push us into doing things not aligned with our own objectives and purposes.  Obviously, at work or school, we can sign ourselves up to being responsible for more than we can accomplish.  The problem is our signing ourselves up for more than we are capable of.  Following that line or inquiry, we also may not know what we are capable of.  We may not what our own purposes are.  It’s the bane of existence for young minds to have more desire than understanding and more hope than awareness.  It’s a pleasurable existence for mature minds to balance awareness, hope, understanding and desire.  We wax and wane between our adolescent and adult minds so the balance is ever-changing.

Being overwhelmed is personal data indicating we are out of balance and out of control of our own lives.  We may not be taking time for ourselves.  We may not understand that our quest to solve problems is creating more problems not only for ourselves but for those we work with.  Our health begins to deteriorate when we let our perception of being overwhelmed to continue unabated.  We may get heart burn. We may eat in ways that doesn’t foster health.  Or, we may act in ways that alienate our family or friends.

There’s more to do than we are capable of.  There’s more opportunity than we can take advantage of.  There’s more problems than we can solve.   This will not change.  Being over or underwhelmed is a state of mind related to how much control we take over our own decisions, time available, attention and attitude.

Taking control of the resources available to us is managing our business.  It is being aware of our capabilities and capacity for work.  Coupling this awareness with an understanding of what we want to accomplish by being at work, immersing ourselves in schooling or whatever, our perception of being overwhelmed subsides.  We do what we can.  It’s up to us to focus our attention on the priorities we set for ourselves in our lives, at our work, at home or in our relationships.  Communicating our status to those who may be expecting the fruits of our labor is key when we know we are unable to accomplish a task or meet a goal.  If that person is you, then it behooves you to get real with yourself.