The Gentle Way Through Overwhelm

Last Friday, I woke up far too early with anxiety.

I had a full day of readings ahead and a major home project in progress. The news cycle also created a lot of strong feelings and was hard to look away from.

My brain whirled at how I would manage to keep my focus on the readings which require deep presence, while also finding space for the house project.

The heat wave was coming, and the yard was currently in disarray. If I didn’t do it that day, it meant postponing another 4 days til temperatures cooled.

My cortisol levels already spiking, I knew I wasn’t going to get more than the 4 hours of sleep I had manged.

I often overbook myself, take on too much, and resist pulling out of any commitments when I realize I am past my limits.

My German mom and workaholic dad taught me to just push on through the overwhelm. I am grateful for the fortitude they instilled in me, but I am trying to learn a new way.

I want to make different choices when I get this drained and fried out.

So I got up, and put away the tools and work gear. I tidied up the mess from the partially done big task. I accepted that it would reside in limbo.

This felt like a big shift for me. I didn’t push through. I backtracked. I paused. I prioritized my focus on one zone to manage, instead of spreading myself too thin.

I had a fantastic day of readings for it. I drank a green tea that helped with the sleep deprivation and I was able to engage fully with each client.

We laughed, cried, and we found answers for their journeys. I love my job and feel honored to share these moments with people. Every cell in my body was grateful that I chose my focus more fully that day.

With the state of the world adding to our stress, some days the scattered chaos and emotional overwhelm pushes it’s way in. I can’t take on as much as I would like to when that happens.

Some days we have to accept our limits and prioritize the need to decompress.

Here are some ways that I am learning to make different choices that I hope might help you.

Taskmaster:

– Organize my life on a prioritized to-do list (I like the app todoist)

– Consider that things will take longer than I expect to complete

– Acknowledge what I do get done, pause to rest briefly between tasks

– Allow actual space in my schedule when I can

– Hire someone to help with time consuming tasks that I can afford support on

Reassess:

– Be compassionate with myself about the emotional challenges I am
facing that day, and accept I am not going to get as much done

– Tell friends when our plans are tentatively penciled in due to being booked on a busy week

– Cancel or reschedule lower priorities when I see I am pushing my limits (I almost never do this for readings unless I am sick, as they are my livelihood and I enjoy my work immensely)

– Pause from immediacy: when new tasks show up, put them on the to do list instead of presuming they need done now

Self-regulation:

– Catch the moments that I am stressed, and see if I can make time for a brief meditation, a walk, some yoga, or a nap

– Make sure to drink water and eat protein all day

– Notice what is trying to distract me, and consider tuning it out for a period of time, using the Focus Me app to limit my spontaneous access to news and scrolling

– Reach out to friends for emotional support as needed

I hope you might consider arranging a self-care session with me to help you better align with your own focus.

You can get a personal tarot reading for insight or an intuition coaching to rehearse how you can shift your own energy toward healthier decision making habits.

Bring in a friend who needs to reassess their path with a Tarot Together reading. 

In the Portland area? Maybe get away this month with a weekend visit to the Oregon Renaissance Faire and get a reading from our booth!

The tarot and palm readers with Portlandia Fortune Tellers know how to keep things both profound and light. Bring one of our team in for an event to create a deeper community connection.

Have a wonderful weekend and I hope you can priortize delicious downtime.

Choose New Ways,

Jenna Lynne Roberts

Present Path Tarot

Portlandia Fortune Tellers