Declutter

Hi and thank you for coming back! I know its been a while but I’m back and putting this out there so you can hold me accountable; expect a series!

The last 3 months has been hectic and in a very unhealthy way. You know how you just find yourself in a lot of activities and it feels like you’re drowning but everything seems too important to turn down? That was how I felt. I had convinced myself that I wasn’t doing enough plus I think I was striving to catch up with a deadline I had set in my head. I SUNK! How do people do so much at once and still find time to relax, have fun and breathe? Are they angels? I thought I was one!

So Abba (God-my Father) turned on the light in this dark moment and it turns out that the main cause of my suffering- and that of many like me- is IGNORANCE. Here’s me turning on the light if you’ve ever been overwhelmed! This post is my takeaway from a mentoring session that helped me.😉 Enjoy!

So most times you’re overwhelmed because –
•You take up tasks that do not align with your personality or purpose. Imagine how stressed an introvert would be staying in the crowd for long or how a doctor (by purpose) is frustrated working as a banker. SMH. This can be difficult if you don’t even know yourself or understand purpose.
•You jump into something without planning or organizing. It’s a struggle if you’re spontaneous and not too much of an organized-planner-analyst😌but maybe you wanna pause and…

We can never go wrong with having a functioning system. This is something I’m intentional about learning. To-Do Lists, planners- thank God for Google Calendars; our lives don’t have to be all over the place with us running to pick up the pieces everytime.
•You carry the activities from a previous season into another season. I experienced this right after the pandemic. It was a season where you were either anxious or restful or planning and post pandemic was the season to launch and reintegrate but a part of me found it hard to adjust, switch patterns. Transiting from singlehood to marriage, motherhood, a new job, school, project, environment or even loss can all trigger overwhelm. Acknowledging that season is a massive win.
•You lack a sense of self 😭! Many of us are ‘achievement parasites’. You crave approval and attention and sometimes only get it from work so yea, take cover under lots of things so people can say “oh she’s busy etc”. “I have a lot to do”, used to be a fav statement till i realized that even when I didn’t have anything to do, my mind was still everywhere. Your To-Do list shouldn’t even be an unending river. Every tick is a step in purpose, celebrate that.

…I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.

King Solo, The Wisest.

Ecclesiastes 2:10‭-‬11 NLT

•You say too many YESes! I feel attacked. ‘Overwhelming’ isn’t far from someone who’s available and ready to take on everything. No, you don’t. We don’t have to. It’s okay to say NO; it’s courteous, mental health stabling, it’s a work ethic, it’s a perfect answer in some situations than some of us let on.

Quote: A free calendar doesn’t equal availability.

So if you find yourself in any of these boats, you’re a step ahead into breaking free. Understand what season you’re in and be intentional about adjusting to it – it’s not easy but it’s not impossible. Remember purpose is in everything you do daily! Would it be purposeful or in line with God’s plan for you to constantly live under pressure, stressed and tired? Definitely not.

#funfact – When God looks at you, he doesn’t see all these activities you’re buried under, he sees you – the inner person with whatever heart content and that’s what matters! Where you are now is just a tiny bit of where you’re headed, so live light.

Many times, you can’t help feeling ‘needed’ and it’s easy to lose yourself in being a sister, mother, friend, worker etc. But these things are not the totality of who you are.

Meanwhile, being overwhelmed is kind of a generic term. There are levels to this thing siss! There’s the;
•physical overwhelm where your body is stress, in pain and aching.
•social overwhelm when you’ve been around people so long you need personal space to recover. Thisss! Social media would also fall here ’cause jeez! Sometimes you can’t trace your overwhelm back to long hours of scrolling and going through other people’s seemingly beautiful life experiences while you’re yet to get a hold on yours. But it is what it is!
•schedule overwhelm is when you have too many things to do. Your To-Do list gets longer and the ticks are lesser. No free time – well-done Dr. Seuss
•sensory/Ambience overwhelm is when you can’t handle the expériences in your environment anymore.  Say there’s too much noise or a bad odour or heat – that kind of thing.
•emotional overwhelm is when there’s a lot of negative emotions, unforgiveness, hurt with no closure.
•mental overwhelm is when you worry a lot or find yourself in a fast-paced environment where you have to be twice as fast or too many things happening at a time or even a toxic relationship.
•This is a very important one and infact, every other one and their solutions are tied to this – SPIRITUAL OVERWHELM – you feel disconnected, passionless and far apart from God especially when you’ve been in better places before. RECONNECT. You see and understand yourself better from God’s perspective. He gives you wisdom and strength to set up systems that’d make life easier. He assures you daily of how much you’re worth, outside the many things you try to define yourself by
There’s something He won’t do and it’s totally on you to; accept his offer to rest, plan and actually live THE life.

You don’t have to experience all to feel overwhelmed, one or two combos make a perfect recipe for a top-tier overwhelming feeling. What type of overwhelm do you experience often? Do you know why now?

If you’re wondering why this post is titled ‘Declutter’ and not ‘overwhelm’, it’s because I’d rather we focus on solutions/answers than the problem! Here’s a simple checklist that can do wonders to mind and ease the overwhelming feeling. Take a break. Say No.  Go out. Eat right. Let go. Change your confessions. Stick with Abba. Just Declutter;

Did you find light? Let me know in the comment section! See you soon.

♥️💡