We’ve all done it – chances are we still all do it – and that is worry unnecessarily about stuff!
As a Practical Life Coach, I talk to lots of people who worry about a lot of stuff. Sometimes it’s totally justified and sometimes it’s just so overwhelming that they can’t see the wood for the trees and so worry anyway.
When I’m working with clients, we do an overhaul on the things that are causing them anxiety and 9 times out of 10, they will mention the things that are, in their mind, causing them sleepless nights. We will work through these issues one by one, prioritising tasks, creating a plan and also deciding what is actually worth worrying about. All of these things can help them navigate overwhelm.
I give my clients various exercises to enable them to let go of some of the worries, to perhaps give themselves some time to recognise whether they are actual worries or overwhelm – both of which can be dealt with but often in very different ways.
The story below is one of my favourites and demonstrates the need to be able to park things sometimes, rather that catastrophise which often leads to the overwhelm – have a little read…
I hired a plumber to help me restore an old farmhouse, and after he had just finished a rough first day on the job: a flat tyre made him lose an hour of work, his electric drill quit and his ancient truck refused to start.
While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands.
When opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His face was wreathed in smiles, and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.
Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree, and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.
‘Oh, that’s my trouble tree,’ he replied ‘I know I can’t help having troubles on the job, but one thing’s for sure, those troubles don’t belong in the house with my wife and the children, so I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home and ask the Universe to take care of them. Then in the morning I pick them up again. Funny thing is,’ he smiled,’ when I come out in the morning to pick ’em up, there aren’t nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before.’
It’s not always going to be that simple and we know that, but with some help from me, some tried and tested techniques, we can identify what you need to let go of and how to do just that! Let me help you to create your own trouble tree and see if we can navigate overwhelm and anxiety.
