The Brain and Overwhelm – Not Meant For Each Other (Part 1)

Posted on June 16th, 2009, by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D.

Martha Beck, coach and author, made the following statement recently:

“Overwhelm” is increasingly common as demands on human attention increase exponentially. The human brain just wasn’t designed to handle the environment we inhabit.

So, it’s not just you who is thinking, ‘Gosh, what’s wrong with me? Why can’t I manage everything that’s going on?’ It’s nearly every person I know – and I know a lot of awesome folks…and everyone is thinking, “OMG! There’s too much.”

Some Truths to Evaluate for Yourself

Here are some ‘truths’ to evaluate for yourself:

You are not fully aware of everything that you actually have going on professionally.
You are not fully aware of everything that you actually have going on personally.
There literally are NOT enough hours in the day to do all the things that you think you should be doing (or that you have ‘committed’ to do).
The input never ends – people, emails, phone, mail, radio, TV, your own brain, etc…continue to put more into the ‘hopper.’

Being ‘just whelmed’ is possible – at least most of the time. It means you have to make some choices, but aren’t you and your life worth being ‘just whelmed’ instead of living in overwhelm (or underwhelm)? I hope you say, “Yes.”

And if you know your brain is overloaded – and you would like to be ‘just whelmed,’ then you’re invited to join others (worldwide) who receive Meggin’s weekly emails (free!) at
**I Want to Be Just Whelmed (http://www.JustWhelmed.com)

If you would prefer quick, short weekly tips, then the following site is another place to find suggestions and other tools to support you in your quest for peaceful productivity:
**Top Ten Productivity Tips (http://www.TopTenProductivityTips.com)

(c) 2009 by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D., “The Ph.D. of Productivity”(tm). Through her company, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., Meggin McIntosh changes what people know, feel, dream, and do. Sound interesting? It is!