“I am physically weary and emotionally exhausted,” my coaching client said with a heavy sigh. “I’m not motivated to do anything.”
She was in over her head at work and at home.
I knew how she felt . . . been there recently myself. Overwhelmed with too much to do and little energy to do anything. So I’ve decided in this newsletter, I’ll share four things that help me in handling those “in over my head” moments.
- Do nothing awhile
It seems counter intuitive. After all, you have all these things to do, so you can’t afford to do nothing.
I usually resist this idea. Yet, when I rest, space out with a movie, a book, take a nap or stay in my pjs all day, I feel rejuvenated. Doing nothing is usually the best thing I could do.
- Breathe
How often do you find yourself holding your breath?
The more anxious I get, the less I breathe. When I find myself doing this, I focus on taking a few deep breaths. (Shoulders down, chest open, inhale, hold, and slowly exhale).
- Identify where your energy is seeping away
Do you worry? Do you ever worry that you are not worried enough? Or maybe you worry that you worry too much.
I not only worry too much but then I beat myself up for worrying which only pushes me further under the water.
Lately I am trying to identify not only when I automatically start to fret but the different ways I beat myself up for doing so. I purposefully work to redirect my thoughts but honestly some days I fail miserably.
- Don’t try to figure out everything on your own
Proverb 3:5 (The Message) reads, “Trust God from the bottom of your heart, don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one that will keep you on track. Don’t assume you know it all.”
I have read this verse often in the last few weeks and here’s what God has shown me. When I trust him, I mean a real deeply rooted confidence that God is in charge, it is then and only then can I truly rest. Trust comes first and then rest. I tended to think the opposite. If I could rest in God then I could trust him more.
I wrote in my journal one morning, “I can’t experience deep soul rest, because I don’t trust God to work it out. After all, I might not like what he thinks is best for me. So I wear myself out trying to figure it all out and controlling things. But it never works. Never. Ever. It only pushes me further under water.”
So one of these days, I hope to get it right. I pray that in the midst of those discouraging, overwhelming days, I first focus on God and trust him from the bottom of my heart. That instead of assuming I know it all or trying to figure it all out on my own, that I listen for his still small voice knowing he will keep my head above the water.
“When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown!”
Isaiah 43:2 TLB
