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Reclaim your time, reduce stress, and stop over-giving by shifting how you think about responsibility, control, and work-life balance

The Lie That Keeps You Overwhelmed

Most people who feel overwhelmed at work think the problem is their workload.

Too many emails. Too many meetings. Too many demands.

But that’s not actually the root issue. The real problem is a lack of boundaries, combined with a belief that you don’t have a choice.

I see this with clients all the time. They feel pulled in a dozen directions, stretched too thin, all while building a smoldering resentment. They project competence and confidence on the outside. Meanwhile, they feel like they’re falling apart on the inside. Sometimes they keep it together until the meeting ends, then they run into the bathroom to cry because they can’t hold it together any longer.

What changes everything isn’t the workload. It’s realizing you have way more control than you think.

Read the rest at your own pace here.

I had a conversation recently that reminded me of something I learned the hard way. A man in recovery told me he finally understood that his expectations were the very thing upsetting him. But he didn’t know how to stop having them. He couldn’t imagine moving through the world without them.

I remember feeling the same way. People in recovery would say, "expectations are premeditated resentments." I agreed with them (in theory) and had absolutely no idea how to live that way in practice.

How do you walk through life, especially with family, and not expect people to act a certain way? How do you let go of the exact outcomes you’re sure would make things easier?!

What I’ve learned is that peace never comes from controlling other people. It comes from...Read more

by Barb Nangle, Boundaries Coach, Speaker and Podcaster

photo credit: Liana S.