Ask me how I felt a week ago and I would have said busy.
But implied by that word busy, was the word overwhelmed. Yes, I was going to be busy working, studying for tests, writing papers, throwing a social life somewhere in there and going to a family reunion, but I did not mean the good busy feeling.Response A:
Busy: If I had truly felt a good busy feeling, I would have embraced it by saying, “I am busy. I have this and that to do and then I’m going there for this and what am I still doing here? I’ll catch you later after this happens tonight!”
Response B:
Overwhelmed Busy: Instead, I responded with, sigh, “uh, busy? I have a lot going on and no time to do any of it” as I gloomily stalked away.
What is difference between these two responses?
Control.
Response A, stemmed from a sense of control. While there may have been a lot to do in those few days, response A would have indicated I did not feel overwhelmed because I knew I had it under control, was not worried, and knew it would all work out in the end. Response B indicated a lack of control; I felt things were out of my hands and there wasn’t much I could do about the situation. It also showed the lack of confidence I had in my ability to get things done and in outcomes of those situations.
Looking back on the week, after everything had finally been accomplished, I decided to see what could have made me I respond the way I did. What was it that made me feel as though I had no control? Some factors that may have contributed to this feeling included being unable to ask for help, taking on too many things at once, trying to constantly please others, extreme competitiveness, or ineffective time management. In preparation for the upcoming week, I have a much more positive outlook because after looking at what I have to accomplish, I have made some adjustments to avoid feeling overwhelmed. I have given myself more control over certain situations by saying no, and by trying to plan my days so everything doesn’t pile up on one particular day.
Ask me how I’m feeling about week and I’ll say confident!
Picture obtained from: www.stacksandstacks.com
I can definitely relate to response B. I sometimes get so overwhelmed with the feeling of business that I seem to lose all tact. It's like I'm too busy to even be polite when telling people about how busy I am.
ReplyDeleteCool picture! And I am going to ask you about your week when I next see you. Have the right answer ready!
ReplyDeleteAs my neighbor, friend, and classmate you know that I'm an absolute control freak. I'm going to make this picture my desktop. Thanks for the reminder to stay calm and work to manage my time and commitments well instead of freaking out. :)
ReplyDelete