"Burp" it out
How do you manage overwhelm when faced with new but challenging opportunities?
For me, I simply “burp” it out.
Before I started my business, I avoided any type of personal and professional opportunities outside of what I was already doing as if my life depended on it.
Anything that remotely shifted me slightly beyond the lines of my comfort zone, the answer was always a hard and definitive NO.
Didn’t matter what the opportunity was. Didn’t matter that it could positively impact my life.
I lived by one mantra:
“I’m not doing anything different tomorrow than what I’m already doing today.”
Once I was officially on my own, I quickly realized that if I continued to live with this mindset, I would be screwed. You don’t have the luxury of passing on everything when you don’t have money coming in consistently.
And that scared the shit out of me.
To the point that I would spend many evenings waking up suddenly at 3am in a cold sweat, staring at my ceiling, wondering how the hell I was going to make this work.
I would internalize all of this anxiety and doubt and skip on sharing it with anyone.
Eventually, the negative emotions manifested itself in all types of physical, mental and emotional ways - and not any of them were good, mind you.
It was a really great time in my life - really put the FU in fun :)
Over the course of time, I befriended several fellow business owners from the networking meetings that I photographed and developed genuine relationships with them.
For the first time, I felt as though I had a group of trusted colleagues that I could open up to honestly, because they knew exactly what I was going through in a way that my friends and family could not relate.
They’ve been there before and empathized with my situation. I felt heard, and that was a biggie.
So now, rather than shying away from an opportunity that presents itself, I lean into it and see what happens.
The key?
Before I make a move, I allow myself to feel all the bad feelings - doubt, overwhelm, fear, you know, the fun shit - and then TALK IT OUT with one of my colleagues.
And once I dump it all out, and boy, I mean all of it, I feel more present and prepared to tackle the new challenge.
And believe me, this “burping” out the bullshit really makes the difference.
Whatever works, right?
This fundamental change in my life has led to many magical moments in both my life and business.
And I never thought it would be possible…
...until it was possible.
And it can be possible for you, as well.
If you have issues with stepping outside of your comfort zone, allow yourself the space to air your concerns and apprehensions with a trusted colleague in order to clear your headspace to tackle the new challenge.
“Burp” that shit out, and see how different the world looks after the fact.
Over to you…
How do you deal with managing your overwhelm now? Please share in the comment section below.