Quick Reminder:
First of all - know that feeling overwhelmed is a very natural part of the process.Â
You see:
"Your ability to create the reality that you want is directly determined by your willingness to experience its opposite:
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Saving money will have you feeling broke while it’s actually making you rich.
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Setting boundaries will have you feeling alone while you’re creating new healthy relationships in your life.
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Digging up your trauma will have you feeling broken while it’s actually healing you.
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Working out has you feeling weak while it’s really making you strong.
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Learning something new makes you feel dumb while it’s making you more intelligent.
Your ability to attain the thing that you want is directly correlated with how willing you are to experience its opposite. You have to be ok with being uncomfortable to truly achieve success!" - Unknown.
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Effective exercises for Overwhelm & Anxiety:
Whenever I feel overwhelmed (which is a lot of the time) I now do a quick 10 minute tapping meditation.
It's a technique called EFT tapping, that I have found SO beneficial & effective in helping manage my stress & overwhelm.
EFT Tapping combines the principles of ancient Chinese acupressure with modern psychology & involves tapping on specific "meridian points" on the body whilst focusing on negative emotions or stressors.
A randomised controlled trial published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease examined the effects of EFT Tapping on participants with anxiety.
The study found that EFT significantly reduced anxiety symptoms, with 90% of participants in the EFT group showing improvement compared to just 63% in the cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) group.
It's such a simple, yet powerful tool that you can use anywhere and anytime, and if you are anything like me, you find standard meditation or breathing techniques really challenging.
I know that (as artists) we all struggle with feelings of overwhelm at times, and I felt compelled to share these exercises with you. But if it’s not for you, that’s totally okay too.
Here are two introductory videos that demonstrate the technique:
- Introductory Tapping Exercise - This is a quick three-minute video simple, to introduce you to the technique, but even in 3 minutes you may notice a reduction in your stress or overwhelm. I think it's a great starting point to get a feel for what Tapping is and how it works.
- Tapping for Overwhelm - This video focuses specifically on dealing with overwhelm, I find this is so so effective & I've started doing it every morning.
I’m deeply invested in your well-being and believe in sharing tools and techniques that have had a positive impact on my life, especially when they can help address common struggles like overwhelm, which I know we all encounter to varying degrees.
Again, if this isn’t for you, don’t force it. But please give it a try and see how you feel.
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What to do next:
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When you’re feeling calmer and your head, clearer, I encourage you to set some goals for the month ahead using our Artist Growth Journal HERE
If you are unsure what the "IF'S & THEN'S" exercise is within, please watch this lesson HERE first.
Once you have done the above please please please do not hesitate to share your goals for the month ahead in the community feed, if you need any extra guidance & support.Â
Most of the time, we just need to write down all of our racing thoughts, so that they can "escape" onto a piece of paper & then reach out for help if we need some extra support, when organising those thoughts.Â
Love L x