In this section I present just a few of the clients who have used the strategies in this book to end their sense of being overwhelmed. You will see that their overwhelm shifts by shifting themselves – their patterns of LAB and their beliefs – rather than by changing the outside world. I share their stories in the hope that you will see that no matter your situation, you, too, can end your overwhelm now. The tools that supported each client in their shift are in bold text. You can find interviews and more stories on our website: www.EndOverwhelmNow.com
Monica
Monica is a financial planner, rapidly expanding her business. She felt like she was barely keeping up. Over a three year period, she bought two new businesses, both of which had to be integrated into her existing business. The process of acquiring additional companies created staffing, financial, client, and system integration challenges. With each acquisition, Monica grappled with overwhelm, but she has learned many helpful processes to shift or circumvent that trajectory. She was an early adopter of the STORIES process presented in this book.
On our most recent coaching call, she told me a wonderful story. She said, “I was going on vacation and had a million things to do to get ready: packing, holding the mail, boarding the dog, making sure clients were covered, getting the sprinkler fixed before I went, etc. etc. etc. I noticed the feeling of overwhelm start to come up, and I simply made a decision. I said, ‘No. I choose not to be overwhelmed. I don’t want to do that right now. It’s not going to help anything and it’s really not necessary.’”
“And you know what?” she asked me. “It worked! I didn’t go into that old state of overwhelm. I stayed calm and resourceful, I focused and got done what I needed to get done, and I left for vacation pretty calm and relaxed. And then I didn’t have to spend the first day of my vacation decompressing!”
She was excited to tell me that by practicing the STORIES process and learning to shift her beliefs and her LAB patterns, she could recognize when she was headed toward overwhelm. She now feels it coming on, understands it’s a mindset, and makes the decision not to go there.
She does the other things she’s learned instead.
The things I taught you in this book. And she found out they work. Put into practice they actually work.
And they will work for you, too.
