When everything hits you at once, everything starts looking impossible.
PAUSE.
You do not have to solve your whole life in one sitting.
Pick ONE thing.
Handle it.
Then move to the next.
Many times I am introduced to situations where someone is completely overwhelmed.
Too much going on.
Too many questions.
Too many problems.
Too many people involved.
Too many decisions waiting.
So I immediately start asking questions.
What do I usually find?
MULTIPLE ISSUES ALL PILED TOGETHER.
Now, I am not saying those issues are not real.
NO.
I am saying that when everything gets thrown into one pile, it becomes almost impossible to see what is actually happening.
The answer is not more panic.
The answer is:
ORDER.
ONE SUBJECT AT A TIME PLEASE.
PICK ONE AND LET’S BEGIN
Pick one subject.
I really do not care which one.
We simply need a place to begin.
Take buying a home, for example.
That is a meaty endeavor.
Whether you have done it before or never done it at all, there are plenty of moving parts.
Financing.
Location.
Price.
Inspection.
Condition.
Taxes.
Insurance.
Timing.
Negotiation.
Moving.
LOL.
If you try to hold every one of those questions in your head at the same time, the whole thing starts looking like a mountain.
But if you take them one at a time…
clarity begins to show up.
What can I afford?
Good.
Answer that.
Where do I want to live?
Answer that.
What kind of home?
Answer that.
Now we are moving.
ONE BIG BLUR
Lumping everything together makes the problem look bigger than it really is.
It becomes one giant blur.
And once the blur starts, fear fills in the missing details.
That is when people begin saying:
“I can’t do this.”
Maybe you can.
Maybe you simply cannot see it yet.
There is a difference.
We are supposed to take the subject and command it to do our bidding.
LOL.
Not let the subject drag us around by the ankle.
That requires focus.
What is the problem?
What information do we need?
What is the next decision?
What can be handled now?
What needs to wait?
Order at the beginning creates order at the end.
MOVE IN LOGICAL PROGRESSION
Nature is pretty good at this.
Things arrive in cycles.
They show up.
Do what they are supposed to do.
Then move along.
Spring.
Summer.
Fall.
Winter.
Imagine if all four seasons showed up Tuesday morning.
LOL.
Snow on the roses.
Heat wave at lunchtime.
Leaves falling before dinner.
Thunderstorm at midnight.
Chaos.
But separated into cycles?
Perfectly understandable.
Life works much the same way.
Some things need to happen BEFORE other things.
You cannot finish step seven while refusing to deal with step two.
That is where overwhelm begins.
People stare at the entire staircase instead of the next step.
HANDLE WHAT IS ACTUALLY HERE
This is important.
Sometimes we are not overwhelmed by what is happening.
We are overwhelmed by everything we THINK might happen.
PAUSE.
There is a difference.
What is actually in front of you RIGHT NOW?
Not tomorrow.
Not next month.
Not the disaster movie playing in your head.
Today.
This question.
This phone call.
This decision.
This piece of paper.
This conversation.
Handle that.
Then look again.
The next thing will reveal itself.
READY…AIM…FIRE
Research and gathering information are useful.
Questions are useful.
Thinking is useful.
But unfinished thoughts are exhausting.
A question sitting in your head for three weeks uses energy every time it comes back around.
Answer it.
Or decide when you will answer it.
That alone gives the mind some closure.
Remember:
READY.
AIM.
FIRE.
Not:
READY.
AIM.
AIM.
AIM.
WORRY.
RECONSIDER.
PANIC.
ASK SIX MORE PEOPLE.
LOL.
Eventually, you have to pull the trigger.
Too much going on works against accuracy.
Focus improves the shot.
RICHIE SPEAKS
Here is a Richie rule:
If you have twelve problems, you do NOT have one twelve-headed monster.
You have twelve smaller problems waiting in line.
LOL.
Deal with the first customer.
Then call:
NEXT.
Another one:
Confusion loves crowds.
Clarity likes one-on-one meetings.
ONE THING FINISHED CREATES ENERGY
Here is something else worth noticing.
Finishing one small thing creates momentum.
You make the call.
Done.
Pay the bill.
Done.
Schedule the appointment.
Done.
Answer the email.
Done.
Suddenly the pile does not feel exactly the same.
Why?
Because movement creates evidence.
You are proving to yourself:
I CAN HANDLE THIS.
Overwhelm tells you everything is out of control.
Completion tells you something is under control.
That matters.
PEARLS INSIGHT
Overwhelm often increases when separate problems are mentally combined into one undefined burden.
Breaking a large situation into smaller, clearly defined tasks improves focus, decision-making, emotional control, and forward movement.
You do not need the whole answer.
You need the NEXT clear answer.
PEARLS CONNECTION
This connects with doubt, awareness, discipline, and hindsight.
Doubt grows when too many unanswered questions stay open.
Awareness helps identify what is actually happening.
Discipline keeps us on one subject.
Hindsight eventually shows us that the giant problem was usually solved through a series of smaller decisions.
That is how most mountains get climbed.
One step disguised as nothing special.
Then another.
FINAL THOUGHT
You may have a lot going on.
Fine.
Life does that.
But do not invite every problem into the conference room at the same time.
LOL.
Pick one.
Put it on the table.
Look at it.
Ask the questions.
Find the answer.
Take the action.
Finish what can be finished.
Then move on.
ONE SUBJECT AT A TIME PLEASE.
That is not slow.
That is how things actually get done.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
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