What I did when I was super overwhelmed and stressed

/

Watch my latest TV segment by clicking above

Here is one of my most recent TV segments on Al Dia.  It is in Spanish, thus below is a translation for you if need be!

Recently, I was super overwhelmed and under quite a bit of stress.  I had a ton of deadlines to meet and people kept on reaching out with questions, requests, needs, new projects, etc.  It was quite an uncomfortable time!  In many instances during this time, I just could not find my center and sense of inner peace. 

Now here’s the key: the above was a good thing.  It meant that I had a ton of work, was in demand, and ultimately was using my gifts to live my life purpose.  Since we do not want all of that to go away, the big question is: how do we have all of that abundance, without going crazy?  The point is not NOT to have new projects being offered, deadlines to meet, interesting people to speak with, etc.…The point is to avoid becoming  overwhelmed and stressed, and if we do, learning to recover as quickly as possible to our more grounded, healthy state so that we can perform brilliantly.  Once I realized how overwhelmed and stressed I was, this is what I did to get myself back to a good place:

  • Simplified. For those two weeks, I cancelled everything that was not essential.  Just slashed things out of my calendar left and right.
  • Took super good care of myself. The biggest mistake we make when we are stressed and overwhelmed is to put ourselves last.  All we do is exasperate a problem…making things ten times worse.  I did not fall into this trap!
    • Nutrition: I kept myself well nourished.  I made sure to eat breakfast each day, never go hungry throughout the day, and drink lots of water to stay hydrated.
    • Rested:  You just got to make it happen. Cancelling everything that I could cancel for those two weeks helped here, as it gave me time back that I used to rest.
    • Meditated: I have to admit, things were so crazy I was finding this difficult.  But I prioritized and made it happen.  It meant I had less time to do certain things and I just had to make do with the time I had. 
  • Prayed: As I write this I can’t help but laugh.  Yes I was seeking all and every resources out there!  Jokes aside, as many of you know my faith in something greater than myself is pretty strong.  Thus in moments like this I do not even think of just relying on my human capacity, but ask for a higher power to help (or carry) me through all that needs to get done.  Relying on my limited human capacities isn’t that great…Asking for help from something greater than myself always comes through.  My prayers were simple and repeated quietly to myself throughout the day:
    • “Help me find inner peace as I work through all that needs to get done”
    • “Help me be more creative than I usually am so I can get more done in less time”
    • “Please step into this situation and arrange it so that it is for the greater good of all”
  • Did activities that boosted my energy: There was absolutely no time to waste on anything that was energy sucking!
    • Watched my favorite TV Shows: Even if it was 30 minutes of Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown at 11pm, I made it happen.
    • Read: Again, even if it was 15 minutes of the NYTimes Food section…I snuck it in somehow.
    • Surfed my favorite fashion sites: And I played around a lot on Pinterest (perfect to do in a cab ride to an event)…My boards are coming along quite nicely, click here to check them out :) 

I truly hope this helps.  I would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment below.  If you enjoyed this post, share it with your friends and family!

Lots of love,

Judith