Find A Way (Past Overwhelm)

by | Sep 1, 2017 | Blog

Do you ever find yourself feeling overwhelmed? There’s just too much that needs to get done in the time you think you have to do it?

I totally felt that way last night…but, I quickly found a way past the overwhelm.

If you’d rather listen to this post than read it, click here to listen on my Anchor channel. Please note: Anchor is not the Primal Potential podcast. It’s just a short form audio channel where I share things like these blogs. 

One of the hallmarks of overwhelm is that we’re focused on what we think we can’t do instead of on what we think we can do.

Last night, I found myself thinking through the work I needed to get done in the morning prior to packing for my trip, packing my car, picking up meds at the pharmacy & heading to the gym.

There wasn’t enough time. I couldn’t get it all done. Ugh! Stress!

I spent a lot of time practicing recognizing negative feelings & emotions so I was quick to pause and remind myself that it was my thoughts that were creating this feeling of overwhelm.

Stripping all the emotion away, I practiced looking objectively at what was going on. Just the facts. No stress, no drama, no emotion. Just the facts.

I’ll take you through my thought process.

There were 6 things I wanted (not needed) to get done before leaving for the gym. Getting them done would make me feel less pressure.

I needed to pack my car for the trip.

I needed to fold & pack clothes that were in the dryer.

I needed to stop at the pharmacy before leaving town.

I wanted to be at the gym by 7am.

Waking up at 4:30am would not give me enough time to get done all these things, but I certainly had options.

I could decide to do less. I could skip my workout. I could get up earlier to make enough time for the things I wanted & needed to do.

Instantly, I was focused on multiple viable solutions.

I decided to set my alarm for 3am.

Now, that might sound crazy to you. 3am!? That’s super early.

Yeah, it is. But it’s one single day. And it would make the rest of my day & weekend easier.

Do you have to get up at 3am? No. That’s really not the point. The point is: there are always options.

I could have stayed up later to do the work, pack the car and fold my laundry but that wasn’t as appealing because I was tired.

I could have skipped my workout

I could have cancelled my trip. I could have left later in the day.

I had so many options and focusing only on what I can’t do wasn’t allowing me to see all I could do.

I was tired when the alarm went off, but after powering through a few hours of work, I felt empowered, energized and focused.

Bottom line: find a way. 

Okay. Let’s talk workouts today. After yesterday’s workout, my coach told all of us that we’d be super sore today but that moving and working out would be a great way to get past the soreness.

It’s really true. So many people use soreness as a reason to stay home but activating your muscles, getting blood flowing – it’s so good for recovery.

He was right – my butt was definitely sore from yesterday’s lunges and my chest was still sore from Wednesday’s bench press but I got to the gym anyway.

“Hot Tamale”
400 Meter Run
30/21 Calorie Row
25 Burpees
20 Clean & Jerks (95/65)

On paper it doesn’t look bad. Butttttt I totally almost puked. It was rough. I should have done power cleans instead of clean & jerks (for my shoulder) but I did the clean & jerks instead. Oh well. It was still fun/hard. Now that I can breathe again, I feel much better. I LOVE getting through a hard workout!

On the food front:

Today has been weird. I got up at 3:15am and drank black coffee until my workout. I left straight from the gym to head up to Maine & spend the weekend with my family. I had a couple cheddar crisps with red pepper & some sparkling water along the way.

Once we got up there, all I wanted was…more coffee. It’s life, really.

Noon came and went & I wasn’t really hungry. That’s the fascinating thing about hunger. I had a few moments of hunger throughout the day but they pass really quickly.

Early afternoon I made myself a salad with the raw cabbage I brought up – raw cabbage, Primal Kitchen Chipotle Lime Mayo, bacon & eggs. I forgot to bring my Oxo Salad Bowl. Grrrrr. At least I remembered coffee. It’s the important things…

We grilled out for dinner – chicken and veggies – and I snacked on some Epic Pork Rinds here and there.

Before I hit the road I got a box from Thrive Market so I feel better about sharing my snacks & PK Mayo – I’m usually pretty cheap 🙂 And, my mom & sister liked the pork rinds & chipotle mayo so much they signed up on Thrive.

I had been buying lots of my food/snacks on Amazon but seriously, the prices are way lower on Thrive Market! Like the Primal Kitchen Chipotle Mayo is over $13 per jar on Amazon and just over $7 on Thrive Market. I am alllll about saving $$!

In October 2019, our relationship with Thrive Market changed. They decided to put their marketing dollars in avenues outside of podcasting but we still think they’re a good choice if you’re looking to save money on health & personal care products.

Enough from me for the weekend – I hope yours is wonderful! Make choices that make you proud!

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