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It’s no surprise at all that life feels really overwhelming right now. Wherever you are in the world, there’s a lot going on and it feels like there’s very little we can do about it. But one of the wonderful things about life is that we all have choices.
We can choose what we surround ourselves with, what we listen to, what we watch and how we spend our time.
I watched a really insightful video by my favourite YouTuber Sara K called ‘Are You in Control’ and I LOVED it. It reinforced everything I have come to know about this world and more. I highly recommend it if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed right now.
For the sake of this blog post and using Sara’s approach, let’s think of ourselves as computers for a moment. Stay with me, it’s a good metaphor.
Let’s say we’re all computers with different programming. Sometimes our systems can go into overdrive, find viruses or our storage becomes full. The programs are what shape us and we have a choice to switch things up when things go wrong or we don’t run as smoothly.
Some of us may have found that our storage is full and we don’t know how to clear it without losing important bits, or perhaps there’s a virus that we’re unaware of that’s making us do things without us knowing.
So how can we avoid feeling overwhelmed all the time and start making our lives run a little smoother?
This is What's Programmed You So Far
Think about all the things (or programs) that have made you who you are today. Get ready for a long list.
Things like: our parents, school, religion, sports, diet, fitness routines, relationships, friendships social media, celebrities, musicians, spiritual gurus, books, authors, habitual thoughts, patterns, politicians, dreams, family, news outlets, past experiences, I could go on (but I won’t).
At a certain point in our lives, we can review these programs and see if it’s still working or if it’s time to start afresh. For example, your parents may have taught you certain things that you don’t necessarily agree with anymore now that you’re older, or they may be plugged into a system that you don’t subscribe to. (Think values, politics, views on social issues, etc.).
If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately, perhaps it’s a sign that things need to change. It’s time to switch up one of the programs and start giving your time to something else.
You have permission to opt-out if something doesn’t make you feel good.
To continue on this journey and get a better sense of who you are in this world and why you’re valuable, tune into my podcast You Are A Garden.
How To Know When The System Is Malfunctioning
The first step is to recognise that you are not feeling yourself.
In Sara’s video, she notes that some of the signs of when the system has gone wrong could be when we start to feel jealous or envious of other people, if we have mean thoughts about others, when we procrastinate too much or maybe if we are much angrier than usual.
These things are a sign that there is a deeper issue that needs attention. This could be anything from constant fights about nothing with our partners stemming from resentment on another bigger issue, or procrastinating so much because we were always “the golden child” who could never do wrong and so end up being crippling perfectionists.
Or on a lighter scale, how going on Twitter/TikTok or keeping up with the news too much and always knowing the horrible things that are going on on the other side of the world will make you more irritable and angry or make you have a more negative perception of the world around you.
This is why self-awareness is so important. If we don’t have the ability to recognise when something is not right within ourselves, then we will continue to be unhappy and forever wonder why.
If you’d like to practice more self-reflection, sign up to my newsletter to receive a FREE self-reflection journalling guide!
How You Can Change The Program
If you’re like me, twenty-something and on a journey of sorts, we’re just coming to terms with the fact that we can live our own lives and make our own choices. This is huge! This is the time we get to decide who we become as people. This is when we get to experiment, learn about ourselves and others, what our values are, and what we want to do with our lives.
Sometimes this can sound huge and scary, but all it is is taking it day by day and making choices that we know will lead us to become the adults we admire to be.
If you want to stop feeling a certain way and start feeling less overwhelmed by everything around you, make the decision. Whether that means buying a yoga mat, scheduling a therapy appointment, moving away, quitting your job or uninstalling those news apps and social media.
There are loads of small changes that will make huge impacts on your mood, behaviour and general outlook on life.
So, there’s one thing I want to ask you,
Which programs are you dumping and which ones are you plugging yourself into?
Ready to make some changes? Read the latest JADEN magazine issue for tips on using a planner to create better habits and all the joys of enjoying the little things in life. You can download your copy right now!
And to hear more from me about self-discovery and self-love, sign up to my newsletter and get your free self-reflection journaling guide, listen to my podcast or pick up an issue of JADEN magazine so you can hear inspirational stories from other people just like you on their self-discovery journeys.