LAZY, OR OVERWHELMED…Which is it? 

Have you ever felt like just totally NOT doing ANYTHING? 

Just being like a knot on a log—or a slug in the sunshine—or a curled-up cat?…with a sign that says, “leave me alone”? 

What about that? 

How can you get “out of” that?  Or, can you? 

I’ve felt that way.  Sometimes we just do.  It may be caused from something we can figure out.  And maybe we can’t figure it out.  Sometimes that’s just the way we feel. 

No worries…just a day in our lives here and there.  Our bodies (or our minds) could be telling us we should rest, or be re-fueled in other ways.  It happens.  We get sidetracked on our intentions and usually our bodies do give us some suttle signals, trying to get our attention. 

The good thing is, our bodies do communicate with us—and hopefully we stay alert and pay attention. 

The real problems come up when we don’t pay attention, or when we over-rule our bodies (or minds) and just keep on going, pushing, full speed ahead (down a one-way dead-end road). 

Do you do this?  I’ve done this my whole life. 

Why do we do this?  Who raised our bar? and Why did they do that? 

We work so hard in every direction…for What Reason?  For Who? 

Who is our master that keeps cracking the whip? 

And who appreciates all this “over-work” we’re doing?  Who has the time to even notice it?  We all might feel better if we got that appreciation…but most people I know are overwhelmed themselves. 

Well, we probably would feel better if someone would actually put their hand on our shoulder or give us a big hug—and tell us we’re doing good. 

And whoever would put that arm around us is probably so busy running as fast as we are, they haven’t noticed how hard we’re working—nor have we noticed their hard work. 

The fact is, our world has raised the bar on what’s expected of us—not always, and not in every category—but “excellent” is sometimes expected to be the norm.  And this isn’t just the world at large raising the bar…we’ve raised our own bar too.  We over-expect our over-achievement. 

And if we grew up with those expectations, our feelings could be even stronger.  So one thing is—we expect Really, a Whole Lot of ourselves—above average at least. 

Then, we don’t want to just be super good in our profession— 

we want to be the best mom or dad; we want to be the best cook; the best sports parent; and the best home organizer.  Oh, and we want to look the part too, while we’re doing all that. 

We wonder why we can’t rest at night…why we stay “on the run” making sure we get everything done. 

What do you do to take care of your home?  Your car?  Your work/business?   

Your family’s schedules? Your pets? Yard? Clothes? 

Do you take good care of things you own?  

Do you take good care of your children? 

How important are YOU in seeing that all those things are taken care of?   

• Your car won’t keep running without being cared for regularly;  
• same with family schedules, and your home.   
• And your children can’t be healthy and grow and learn without being taken care of.   

• Your pets wouldn’t survive very well without being cared for. 

So—How is it…that you think you can keep running on high speed without being taken care of…without slowing down…without proper rest…without real (nutrient-dense) food—as opposed to junk (not food)?   

You may be getting by…right now…but our bodies were not made to:  

• be on high speed continuously;  
• run without good quality sleep at night to repair and refresh;  
• to run without proper nourishment;  
• to run non-stop in high stress mode;  

• to run keep pushing ourselves without physically exercising, keeping our muscles strong and blood flowing, and oxygen in our lungs and in our blood stream. 

How long do you wish to try to keep going under these dire conditions? 

In reality, you can’t keep it up long-term and keep your health. 

I have a friend and mentor whose motto is: I don’t do “overwhelm!” 

Could that concept possibly work?  Not without some changes. 

We know we need some changes… the question is, Do you really Want Changes? 

Let’s see where you might be able to re-group a little: 

• What are some things you can cut out of your schedule? (Yes…there are things) 

• Think about planning a couple of days off—even if it is to stay home and enjoy; (What???!! Yes.  It works wonders) 

• How can you put fewer demands on your work load?  (Yes, it can be done—your life may depend on it) 

• Can you get an early morning walk in—outside if possible, to get your body ready for a good night’s rest at night? 

• Can you take some time to appreciate the people in your life—not spending money on them, but just simply appreciating them and letting them know? 

• Can you squeeze in ten minutes a day to meditate? Or even just to concentrate on your breathing for several minutes (to get your mind off of the track of constant thinking and figuring)? It can make a total difference in calming your mind. 

• Can you take a little bit of time to think of a healthier way to eat—most of us eat junk once in a while, but our daily food needs to actually nourish our bodies (and junk does not—it adds calories, the wrong kind of fat (there are good fats, you know, that are very good for us—but not in junk), and chemicals, but the most important thing is that it adds zero nutrition). 

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The next time you feel like you just don’t want to do anything—just go ahead and feel that way.  Don’t judge yourself.  Give yourself a break…Rest a little… 

But if you keep feeling that way regularly…Maybe just imagine that your body is trying to tell you—you really do need to be taken care of better. 

You really can’t “un-need” your needs…as hard as we may try… 

If you can’t feel “peaceful” and “calm” about taking a break, it’s time to re-evaluate your life. 

If you feel overwhelmed a lot… or just frozen in a “lazy-feeling state”… 

All the things that are putting you in this state— 

Are they adding any quality to your life? 

Are they adding any motivation to be better? 

All this continual heaviness may be slowly crushing your soul…pulling you down…making it harder for you to live a full and energetic and victorious life. 

Real, true motivation to excel comes naturally when you have good solid life goals, and feel good at the same time. 

Maybe try being lazy & unproductive for a little while, and give yourself a bit of grace to think of your real values and what you really want for your life. 

They maybe focus on those things a little more.  And focus a little more on caring for the only “self” you and your family will ever have. 

You can do this.  Your life truly does depend on it.  And if you need my help, I’d be so happy to help you in any way.  You can reach me by email or private message on social media. 

Until Next Time… 

To Your Peaceful, Calm and Happy Life… 

Sharon