How Your Brain Keeps You Safe by Staying in Overwhelm
Explore how overwhelm can be a self sabotaging strategy your brain uses to keep you "safe" from growth, change, and expansion.
Learn how your brain keeps you safe by throwing you into overwhelm, and how this is just a tricky strategy to keep you safe and small.
I'll talk about why it happens common ways overwhelm manifests why staying in overwhelm actually feels safe.
I'll give you some mindset shifts to overcome overwhelm, and I'll give you some practical steps to help you get out of this cycle so you can move towards your goals with more ease and focus.
Why does your brain default to overwhelm?
Why is it that we can have an awesome vision of what we want to create, and behaviors and habits that actively prevent us from creating that vision.
It's simple. Your brain is wired for survival, not for growth.
When we face uncertainty, change or anything that feels like a risk, your brain triggers fear responses to protect you. Overwhelm becomes a comfortable state because it keeps us from taking action that feels risky or uncomfortable.
Can you relate to often feeling behind or too busy?
These can be used as excuses not to take the next big step that might push you out of your comfort zone, even though you really want what's on the other side of that discomfort, like a successful business, overwhelm is a form of self sabotage that keeps you from expanding into the next version of yourself who achieves your goals.
Here are some common ways overwhelm manifests
Procrastination. You delay important tasks or focus on low priority busy work to avoid the bigger, scarier steps, struggling to concentrate.
The brain gets overwhelmed with too many competing tasks or distractions, making it hard to focus on any one thing.
This happens to me a lot.
If you watched my movements on a GPS tracker, whenever I have to write anything or create anything challenging, like this episode, you'll see me going in circles, moving between my chair, my cat, my dog, putting the kettle on to make a cup of tea, looking in the fridge, getting some chocolate or jelly beans, if I have any or some variation of that right on repeat, until I finally sit down and try to concentrate.
And then I might write a sentence or two, and then I'm going to check my phone. I'll get up, I'll put the kettle on, etc, etc.
I also have a tendency to overthink things and over complicate things all the time.
It's pretty frustrating.
Always feeling behind
Another way overwhelm manifests is feeling like you're always behind no matter how much you do. It feels like you're constantly playing catch up, which just keeps you stuck in survival mode.
I used to do this to myself all the time as well. I'd keep moving the goal posts on my goals, so that by the time I'd hit a goal, I'd already be looking ahead to my next one. So I never actually celebrated my achievements, and that meant that I always felt like I was behind.
Overcommitting and busyness
Another way overwhelm manifests is over committing and busyness, just taking on way too much is a way to keep yourself overwhelmed so you don't have to confront the bigger picture and take responsibility for your lack of results.
Confusion of what to do first
Another way overwhelm manifests is when you're so confused you just don't know what to do.
And this happened to me a few weeks ago when I was creating a new master class.
I was so excited about it, it felt completely amazing.
I knew this master class was going to be so helpful to my audience, and I was really keen to deliver it. I wrote it in flow and the words and structure structure just dropped in. So it felt easy and amazing.
But then the next day, I woke up feeling overwhelmed and confused about what to do first, and I was terrified I would let everyone down. I tried to strategize my way out of it. I wrote down my to do list, but that didn't make me feel any better or any less overwhelmed.
Fortunately, I had a session with my coach coming up, and I thought I'd discuss my to do list with her, and that she would confirm I was doing the right thing, and then that would make me feel better and more confident.
But you can't see what you can't see, right?
My coach immediately identified that my problem wasn't my strategy.
It's very rarely strategy.
It was my limiting beliefs and outdated programming that were keeping me in overwhelm, so that I wouldn't stick my neck out and create something new for my audience, because it just felt too unsafe and out of my comfort zone, and my subconscious didn't want me to stretch or make an impact, and by not following through, I'd stay safe and small when no one could judge me or hurt me or kick me out of the tribe.
And it was so sneaky, because I've created plenty of master classes before, so I really didn't see the overwhelm for what it was, and that's why I recommend investing in a coach to help you break through to that next level of success.
A coach can help you identify and overcome those limiting beliefs holding you back from achieving your goals.
And if you'd like my support, book a quick call with me.
I'd love to discuss your vision and how I can help you turn it into a reality.
Why overwhelm feels safe and how to break the cycle
The brain perceives overwhelm as safe because it's a known experience, whereas stepping into new territory feels uncertain and really risky.
The fear of growth, failure or success can all trigger overwhelm.
The brain keeps you safe by making you feel too busy to push into new uncomfortable areas.
And overwhelm can be a way to unconsciously cap your potential, keeping you from reaching that next level of growth.
How annoying is that!
Your brain is actively working against your desires for a successful life and business.
Mindset shifts to stop feeling overwhelmed and avoid burnout
Reframe overwhelm as avoidance
Learn to recognize when you're overwhelmed. What does this look and feel like to you? What are you avoiding that feels risky to you?
You can ask yourself, “what am I really avoiding here”, or
“what feels uncomfortable about this next step?”
And just get really honest with yourself.
Focus on progress, not perfection
This is a sneaky little bugger two, because I wouldn't describe myself as a perfectionist.
I am completely average. I've never excelled at any one thing, and I think I'm okay with that, or maybe I'm just more resigned to it, but I wouldn't say that I aim for perfection, and I often say “Done is better than perfect”.
But as I was writing this episode, I realized that I was procrastinating so much because I didn't want to screw it up.
And if I dig deeper into that, I would say that I wanted to be perfect.
There I said it, I want it to be perfect, and it's preventing me from sitting down and getting it done.
So to take the pressure off, I'm just going to aim for, and I encourage you to try to make steady, intentional progress instead.
Identify and reframe limiting beliefs causing overwhelm
Another tip is to challenge limiting beliefs that are keeping you stuck and overwhelmed.
First, you need to identify the limiting belief.
You can download my guide on Identifying and Reframing Limiting Beliefs here
But let's see if we can just identify one right now, while you're reading this post.
Ask yourself, “I would feel focused and decisive, but…”
and then write down the first thing that comes to mind without filtering.
And what you answered there is your limiting belief, and now that you've identified it, just be really compassionate.
This is your brain trying to keep you safe.
Acknowledge it, and then you can pop it in the back seat so it's not driving the bus. You could say something like “I see you, I thank you for trying to protect me, and I'm taking action towards my goals anyway”
You can also lean into the discomfort, and this is easier said than done, but the truth is, growth requires stepping out of your comfort zone, and instead of avoiding discomfort, learn to embrace it and celebrate it as a sign of expansion.
Practical tips to reduce overwhelm and increase productivity
If you feel busy but are not actually being productive, follow these tips
Simplify your to do list
Focus on just one to three high priority tasks that align with your larger vision.
These tasks are tasks that only you can do and will make the biggest impact to your business.
Delete or delegate tasks
Delete or delegate tasks that keep you busy but aren't the best use of your time and energy.
Time Blocking
You could try time blocking so that is dedicating specific blocks of time for focused work on your high priority goals, and I always encourage you to allow a buffer so that you can ramp up and have space to work over time, if necessary.
Ramping up to get yourself in the zone
Create a joyful ramp up to prepare your brain for getting in the zone where working feels easy and flowy.
Ramping up might look like:
Dancing to your fave song
Checking your socials
Reading your emails
Doing some exercise
Doing the laundry
Or in my case, cuddling the cat, playing with the dog, and boiling the kettle.
How to overcome overwhelm as a creative entrepreneur
Remember to schedule in time for rest, play, creativity and joy.
Overwhelm often comes from burnout, so scheduling and time for your self care is critical.
Continuously pushing works against us and is unnecessary.
You might build a successful business this way, but at what cost to your health and your relationships?
Do your best ideas come when you're in front of the computer or when you're out walking, having coffee with friends or in the shower?
Allow time for activities that bring you joy, and this is going to help you stay focused and clear headed when you're working on your high impact tasks.
Having an accountability partner and setting deadlines is really helpful too.
These can help keep you on track and break that cycle of avoidance.
I have a coach, and I know that I usually do my best work first thing in the morning and one hour before I have to collect the kids from school, something about that last hour before school ends really lights a fire under my butt.
So to recap:
We've explored why and how your brain puts you into overwhelm as a strategy to keep you safe from growth, expansion and change.
I've given you some examples of how overwhelm may show up in your life, and I've given you some steps to help you get out of the cycle and move towards your goals with more ease and focus.
You're not here to stay stuck in survival mode.
You're here to grow and expand.
Stepping into your next level of success will feel uncomfortable, but I truly believe that that discomfort is where the magic happens.
Don't forget that if you'd like support with achieving your goals, book a call with me.
I would love to discuss your vision and how I can help you and support you as you turn it into a reality.