Summary: To avoid feeling overwhelmed, consider which version of you is showing up. Some days we start out and the you that shows up is the focused, motivated, energized, action-taking you. And some days the you that shows up is the unfocused, unmotivated, lethargic, non-action-taking you.<br> <br> And when we recognize this in advance, we can do a couple of things. One is to say, okay, I don't really like the me that showed up today. You know, can I get myself in gear? Can I take some sort of action? Can I get myself motivated? Or will I at least take the next step?<br> <br> Will I take one small step in the direction of accomplishing what I've told myself and others that I intend to do?<br> <br> <br> <br> David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. In today's episode, co-host Jay McFarland and I will be discussing the topic of how to avoid getting overwhelmed. Welcome back, Jay.<br> <br> <br> <br> Jay: Hey, David. It's great to be here, and this is such an important topic, especially for the entrepreneur. There are so many different things going on, and you know, oftentimes you have to be the front office, the back office, you have to fulfill the orders.<br> <br> I mean, there are just so many things, and keeping track of it can be very difficult.<br> <br> David: It can. And before we even really dive in too much, I just want to point out, first of all, we are not experts in the mental health field at all, right? So if you're struggling with actual mental health issues, this is not the podcast to listen to.<br> <br> But if you're in sales or marketing or business ownership, or just dealing with the day-to-day and occasionally feeling overwhelmed, that's what we'll be talking about. If you're feeling a little overwhelmed or stressed in business, that will be the discussion at hand today. And yeah, as you were saying, Jay, I mean, most of us have this situation at one point or another when you're in business, particularly when you're in sales, it's easy to feel overwhelmed on some days.<br> <br> It's like, oh, I don't feel like making the calls, or I'm struggling with this, or I'm struggling with that. And just that thought alone can stop some people in their tracks and cause 'em to not move forward.<br> <br> Jay: Yeah. I think first of all, it's important to tell people it's okay to feel overwhelmed. I mean, that's the reality for most people.<br> <br> But if that feeling becomes a stress paralysis, like I've experienced, like there are so many things going on. I don't know which one I should be focusing on, so I end up doing less instead of more. That can really be damaging to your business.<br> <br> David: It absolutely is. And what I find is that in a lot of cases, the things that cause us to feel overwhelmed is when we focus on all the different things that we have to do or all the different things that have to be done. And the fact there are too many things coming at us at once. And it's this habit of looking at everything as opposed to looking at the one thing or the next thing that I can do, which would actually allow us to move forward.<br> <br> And that I'm sure sounds very simplistic, and to some degree it is. But when we're struggling with that, a lot of it really becomes about our focus. How tightly can we narrow our focus so that we can actually concentrate on doing just one thing?<br> <br> What's the one, tiny, next thing I can do to move forward so I don't just give up?<br> <br> Jay: Yeah, and a lot of people I think, sometimes want to give up. But I think it's really important to do some work in advance here.<br> <br> If you don't have a list or a plan that talks about all of those things that need to be done and maybe prioritize them.<br> <br> If you don't have that done, then it's going to be very hard, like you said, to say, what is the one thing I should be doing right now?
