Goldilocks' Zone of Pressure

How to tackle feeling overwhelmed in this ever-busy world

As I start this newsletter article, I would like to take a moment to pause and express gratitude. I reached 100k followers on Instagram in the past week, and I thank you all for supporting me on this journey. It feels surreal, to say the least.

Onward and upward with the issue.

I would like to start this issue with a couple of questions.

  1. How often do you feel busy?

  2. How often do you feel overwhelmed?

Now, you could assume that these questions are identical. You're right; they have some superficial similarities but enormous differences.

Busyness is the absence of idleness, and everybody (obviously not on vacation) loves to be busy. Wouldn’t you like to be engaged with the work you love and be occupied with it for huge chunks of your day?

Being busy means finding things to keep yourself handy and alert in pursuit of time-bound tasks. While this can be stressful, people who are busy usually have a clear understanding of what needs to be done and how to manage their time to accomplish their tasks efficiently.

On the other hand, being overwhelmed often means feeling a sense of helplessness or being consumed by a flood of emotions or thoughts.

People who are overwhelmed may feel like they have too many things to do, too many decisions to make, or too many things to consider. This can lead to a sense of being stuck or unable to move forward.

In the modern world, it's easy to confuse being busy with being overwhelmed, as we are constantly bombarded with information and demands on our time.

I would blame it on constantly being connected to technology, which can make it difficult to disconnect from work or other responsibilities.

But that’s just not the only reason, many of us take up extra work to reach the high goals we set for ourselves before planning what we can realistically achieve.

A little sense of pressure or anxiousness helps us beat our procrastination and achieve our tasks, but too much pressure does bring harm.

Self-pressure can have negative effects on our mental and physical health. It can lead to burnout, depression, helplessness, a negative mindset, physical health issues, and more.

Before you start pushing yourself to reach out expectations you have set for yourself, show some self-love, find the perfect sweet spot of pressure which helps you realistically achieve your dreams, your Goldilocks’ Zone :)

Take a break before your body takes one for you.

Adding a few points that have helped me pull myself out of a self-pressuring mindset and hope they help you too:

  • Recognition: remember that at the end of the day, you put in efforts to improve your situation, not worsen it

  • Gratitude: Replace pressure with gratitude

  • Acceptance: So that you can feel relief with your situation

  • Planning: take a step back about how you want to deal with the situation

  • Implementation: create a trigger signal to pull yourself back from negative thoughts

  • Appraisal: remember the moments that made you feel good

Remember to be patient and kind to yourself, and celebrate your efforts, no matter how small they are.

Reply to this mail or tweet me at me @mounika_2000 with topics discussed. I respond to each and every reply.

Receiving email replies to the newsletter means the world to me. Thank you for joining me along on the ride, and meet you in the next issue of Swirling Visions.

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