How to Overcome Overwhelm and Achieve Your Goals
Learn how to make healthy eating, exercise, and other healthy habits feel easy, even when you’re tired, busy, or stressed.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the thought of making a healthy change to your lifestyle? Maybe the thought of healthy eating, starting to exercise, or doing something else has felt (or feels) overwhelming…
The cause of overwhelm
Feeling overwhelmed could be a sign that you are trying to do too much or that you are focused on the “grand plan”. You might be thinking about everything that eventually needs to happen instead of focusing on the smaller steps in front of you.
What happens
When people feel overwhelmed, they either tend to procrastinate or they feel stuck. They want to move forward, but feel like they can’t. The more overwhelmed they feel, the less motivated and capable they feel, which can then lead to frustration, negative self-talk, and perhaps even giving up.
The solution
The way to overcome feeling overwhelmed is to break down what it is you want to do into small steps (or mini tasks). Break it down until you’ve identified one small step that you are willing and able to take so that you can move forward.
Exercise example
For someone who feels overwhelmed by the thought of starting an exercise routine, a small step forward might mean:
Calling a local gym to ask about membership and pricing options.
Making a list of 3-5 possible exercise options.
Calling a friend or neighbor to see if they would walk with you if you decided to go.
Finding or charging their step counter or fitness tracker.
Setting a timer for five minutes to start clearing out a space for exercise.
Even if they move one piece of furniture in that five minutes, they’ve taken a step forward toward their goals, which is better than standing still.
Nutrition examples
For someone who feels overwhelmed by the thought of planning dinners for the week, a small step forward might mean:
Making a list of 10 foods or ingredients on hand that could be used in a meal.
Planning one dinner instead of three, four, or five dinners.
Setting a timer and spending five minutes looking through a cookbook or browsing recipe ideas online.
Taking food out of the freezer to defrost.
There is no right or wrong
There is no right or wrong small step forward. The goal is to break down what it is you want to do into small steps (or mini tasks) until one of them feels doable.
Why it works
One small step forward can lead to more steps forward which allows you to get unstuck, start building momentum, and move in the direction of your goals.
This approach also allows you to gradually shift away from patterns of starting and stopping or waiting for the “right” or “perfect” time to do something.
Common examples of this pattern include:
Starting (again) on Monday.
Waiting until work (or life) slows down.
Pausing until after an event.
Starting after vacation.
Etc.
Give yourself permission
Give yourself permission to take a small step, and know that it’s okay. If you tend to think in all-or-nothing terms, it might not seem like very much or might not seem like “enough”.
Please know that it is.
In fact, the only way to build healthy habits that last, is to make small changes or take small steps forward. That way, no matter how busy, tired, or stressed you are, moving forward always feels possible.
The next time you feel overwhelmed by the thought of implementing a healthy change to your lifestyle, see if you can identify and implement one small step toward that change… to get unstuck, move forward, and start building momentum.