Do you know that old saying “my eyes were too big for my stomach”? It means your perception of what you want to eat is too much food for you to be able to comfortably digest. I find this happens to me when it comes to projects and goals. I have been looking at September and thinking about all the things I think I will finish in the next month. As my head filled with the marvelous—and totally unrealistic—goals, I found myself getting anxious.
There are so many projects I want to work on that can’t really be finished in a month. My head became clouded with anxiety over decisions on what to focus on. I reflected on how I can work on all these goals and not burn out. So I asked my intuitive mind: What should I do?
My answer was to write it out. I pulled out my journal and started a brainstorm or, as some people call it, a brain dump. A brainstorm or dump is a method to write out all your thoughts on a page in no particular order to clear your mind. In the center of the page I wrote “ridiculous things I think I can accomplish in September.” Then in random spots I wrote down everything I thought about working on. Everything from finishing a book I am working on, to loosing ten pounds, coming up with a year’s worth of classes for next year, reviving an old podcast, upping my earnings with more promotion, and creating new programs for my hypnosis clients.
When the flow of ridiculous things I thought I could do stopped, I took a breath, took a break, got some tea, and came back to my brainstorm. I looked at all the things on it and started crossing out projects that didn’t ring true for me. Then I took out a different color pen and wrote next to the remaining projects what the next smallest steps were in each project. I made sure these were humble things I could actually do in the next month. For example, I set a weekly goal of three writing sessions for my book instead of trying to write everyday. Turned down my weight reduction goal from 10 pounds to 3 pounds. Suddenly I was not anxious but excited to work to achieve these smaller goals.
When I was done I had the inspiration to share this with you because I may not be the only one who gets overwhelmed and anxious when it comes to planning and goals. Maybe this is something that can help you get back on track. If you’re interested in working with me in more depth about this kind of planning and other ways to relieve anxiety, you can always book a session with me to talk about it.
