Cut Out The Stress And Simplify Your Life

Have you ever overindulged on a meal to the point of being full and unable to take another bite?

This is what happened to me a short while ago. Although I had not eaten the contents of the overstocked fridge until I was at bursting point. I had however taken on an excess amount of projects and actions leading up to this moment.

As a result of this, I felt full, exhausted, overwhelmed and drained.

For days it was as if I had been lugging around a suitcase of heavy glassware, scared that at any moment I would drop it and break it’s contents into a million tiny pieces. This is when one powerful insight jumped into my awareness whilst walking my dog on a cold blustery afternoon in London.

Since my defences were low and I was walking aimlessly into the depths of the overgrown foliage in the heath, I was admiring the scenery in front of my eyes. I added to this peaceful moment by turning off my phone, which is the gateway to social media, unnecessary requests, messages and what I would categorise as the none important froth which occupies far too much real estate in our minds.

I suddenly came across this powerful but very calm shift of mindset.

This magically appeared as an answer to why I had been dragging my feet for the past few days. The answer I received from the universe was simple. It was pure and adulterated exhaustion. I had a vision of someone offering me another spoonful of food.

As much as I was trying to open my mouth to accept the contents, I felt so full, that I was incapable of taking on even one tiny extra bite of what was on offer. That is exactly what life felt like then.

It reminded me that just as our stomachs automatically tell us when to stop when we have completed a meal and feel unable to proceed. Our life can be just as full of the psychological and emotionally contents we sometimes add to it. I was full to the brim and could no longer consume any more.

It was no wonder I felt overwhelmed and unmotivated. I decided that the only thing for me to do right now was to stop and slow down. Look around and examine what I had eaten (so to speak) in the past few months.

it was like doing a mental inventory of the food you’ve consumed when you’re beginning on a diet. The first thing you’re asked to do is to create a food diary to see where the calories are being consumed when starting off a diet programme

So I created a life diary.

As I sat down and catalogued all the things I had done in the past few months, I felt exhausted as I did so. I was astonished at how much I had consumed and what exactly was occupying my days. As I stared at what was in front of me, I realised that like any good diet, you have to cut out the fats, carbohydrates and sugars out of your meal.

Life works in the same way.

Cut out ruthlessly what is not serving you, what you’re emotionally allergic to and the extra calories that might be weighing you down. Skimming away actions, tasks, activities and things that absolutely overwhelmed me was freeing. A way of purging away all that was unnecessary. It actually felt so good.

In reality we just don’t notice how busy we are binging on the projects or ventures we think will give us the momentary fix or joy. In the same way we feel as we sit gorging on those extra calorific, yet divine kettle chips. In reality each project, action or responsibility were choosing to engage in adds calories. This produces the heaviness and extra weight which make it difficult to walk, move and be productive.

In our desire to change the world, sometimes we just take on too much.

As I examined the contents of my ‘life’ diet these past few months, I realised I had accumulated travel to 7 different countries, most of which were long haul. I was also writing articles, dealing with personal and family life, travelling to speaking engagements, and also undertaking a specialised programme in America whilst of course coaching my wonderful clients.

Was it any wonder I could barely move from the overwhelm I felt. My body was gasping for a hiatus and a chance to breathe, to stop, smell the roses and enjoy the moment. I needed to listen carefully to my body’s communication.

I had in fact depleted my resources.

It felt important to digest the contents of what I had experienced these past few months, before rushing off to create the next venture or action. The wonderful thing about an insight is that the minute I became aware of what was happening, the calm feeling enveloped me. I knew in my gut what the solution needed to be and there was a simplicity about it.

I would put some of the activities and tasks I was due to do immediately on hold for 3 months. This would give me time to digest everything I had done up to now. Allow it to seep in and fully enter my system in a way that I could pick up the precious lessons that no doubt this would bring.

This felt so much better than racing onto the next thing.

As soon as this thought came in, it just felt like the right next step and as I did so, the world began to feel different, more manageable, less overwhelming.

I’m currently feeling as light as a feather and in following my ‘life’ diet, I feel as if I’ve lost a couple of stone already.

I didn’t need to cure my procrastination or turn up my productivity, I just needed to cut away the extra ‘life’ calories that were depleting my resources, draining my energy and simply not serving me.

If you're currently feeling stressed or overwhelmed, ask yourself one simple question, What are the extra calories that you need to cut out of your life?