Overwhelm is a huge problem in today’s world! The pandemic has not helped this but so often because we are in the soup, we are not able to recognize the challenges we are in. A great idiom to help with this is the boiling frog syndrome. Are you the frog in the soup? Here is what I have experienced because of the situation I was in and the failure to step back or take some time to take care of myself.
When you are in the heat of the battle there is a failure to accept, acknowledge or act to get out of the situation you are in. Unfortunately, if you are not able to do the self-care required or be able to step out of the situation with a retreat or with someone guiding you along through the challenge you could end up like I did and go through the experience of burn out.
Just like the idiom of the frog if you are faced with an immediate danger or challenge it is much easier to jump out of the water or work through the issue. Again, as life gets in the way and the business of what you have on your schedule and plate the movement from the cool water to the gradual turning up of the heat in the water because of the circumstances of life doesn’t allow you to notice that those circumstances are actually boiling the life right out of you! So, what can you do? Let me give you a few ideas to pause the heat from the boiling process and gain clarity in your life!
Strengthen your personal foundation!
I have used this phrase but feel that it cannot be said enough that you are made on purpose for a purpose! You have the seeds of greatness within you. Now don’t mistake what I am saying. I am not saying that you will be rich and famous or wildly successful. Knowing who you are and what you value will dictate more than I can say. Because of the social media world many people have a distorted view of what success is and who they are. The goal of this media is to make you discontent and to desire something you are not. An idea that has been a part of my goal setting and times of reflection and review is to revisit my values and see if I am still aligning with them. This past year was hard because of all the challenges that it brought but I can say that I have had to work through some challenges personally but because of the strength and foundation of my values, I am continuing to grow and make progress personally.
Seek out accountability
What a challenge this past year has been with all the shelter in place orders and hampered abilities to meet together. I am thankful for technology, but it is not the same. I believe we are made to be in community and have face to face, human interaction. Personally, to have the interaction where we can see each other to have conversations which have the opportunity to see and experience feelings and emotions. You can ask someone how they are doing on a zoom call but only seeing their face will not tell you a whole lot. It is not until you see their body language and sense that things are not right, that you can truly empathize and understand their situation. Zoom will not supplement that. In business and organizations there needs to be that interaction as well to understand what is going on. The metrics and the things that are being accomplished are not easily checked if you do not have a structure to hold everyone accountable.
Engage your purpose
I read a book many years ago about calling. It was a faith-based book which often is a subject of finding you calling. As a person of faith, I believe we all have a calling, but it can be lived out in different ways. In other words, your calling can be lived out within different careers or jobs. Do you know what your calling or purpose in life is? I can tell you this that if you have that straight you will live your life with greater joy. It will excite you to get out of bed in the morning where your day will fly by. Let me challenge you to figure your purpose out and fully engage this into your life. You will have a deeper, fuller, richer, more meaningful life!
Are you in the heat of the battle and in the pot of boiling water? Maybe the heat has not been turned up yet and you are in the soup of discontent or uncertainty. I would like to remind you again that you have a purpose and even in this time of uncertainty, you can make something great out of your circumstance. If any of these ideas resonated with you and you are ready to take the challenge to make your life better and to live into your purpose, please do not hesitate to connect with me.