How To Shift Your Mindset When You're Overwhelmed

Know that you can't fail at self-care.

There will always be times when you get off track times you accidentally oversleep and don't get to the gym, times you forget to plan for dinner and end up going out. There will always be unexpected losses and disappointments, and there will always be situations you don't handle as well as you'd like. Overcoming the feeling of being overwhelmed is a process of learning what is most important so that you can make choices and adjust them over time to ensure that they're lining up with your values and goals. You can't do it all, but as long as you are making empowered decisions, you can't help but go in the right direction.

Remember your power.

Part of feeling overwhelmed can be feeling like you are at the mercy of all the things that are happening around you. Things may be challenging, life may be hard. You may have circumstances that are difficult. But there are always things you can do to lighten your load. You have power over your own choices. You can say no to things without the world ending or people being disappointed with you. Acknowledging this truth and acting on it will give you a sense of power in your own life, which in and of itself decreases your experience of stress and overwhelm.

Believe in yourself.

If you can put your skepticism aside and fully believe that you can say no and people will still love and appreciate you, that you can get out from under your overwhelment, you'll have more strength and a stronger foundation to make a change. And if you don't believe it yet? Fake it until you make it. Faking it can actually help give you more confidence towards things over time.

Have good judgement.

If you try to do too much at once, especially if you're already overwhelmed, you're likely to fall short. You can't solve being overwhelmed by adding more and more to your plate. Choose the things that will take the least amount of effort with the most amount of benefit. Set your sights on those things, even if they're small things, and over time those small things will add up. Every single step you take in the direction you want to go gets you that much closer to being there. And if you take on too much, step back, regroup, and try again.

Be realistic.

Sure, it's good to be positive, but for many of us, if we think positively and our desired outcome doesn't occur, we can feel sad, down, disappointed, and even hopeless. Life can be hard and unfair, so in addition to believing in yourself, check your expectations, as setting an unrealistic bar is a sure way to feel like you're failing (even though you're not!).

Be kind to yourself.

The only thing worse than not taking care of yourself is giving yourself a hard time about not taking care of yourself. Piling on guilt and self-judgment doesn't help you make better choices. It doesn't motivate you. It doesn't do anything except make you feel bad. If you hear a voice in your head that repeatedly puts you down, tell it to step aside. Replace the unkind thought with a kind thought.

Be flexible and willing to let go.

In order to make positive change, we need to be willing to let go of parts of our lives and ourselves that don't serve us. Sometimes these things give us comfort even though they aren't the best choices. If we are to truly create a life in which we don't feel overwhelmed, and we are surrounded by things and people that support us to be our best selves, we have to stand up to our patterns and tendencies with an open mind and an open heart and be willing to make a change.

Be yourself.

Don't worry about what anyone else is doing. Forge your own way. Be the person you want to be, not who you are told to be by anyone. Know that who you are in your core is good and worthy. Decide what's important to you, how you want to feel, what you want to accomplish, and how you want your life to look, and start working toward that goal with the choices you make. Every step you take in the direction of where you want to go will get you that much closer to being where you want to be.

For more articles on how to shift your mindset, not only when you’re upset, but all the time, check out How to change your mindset or Change from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset