Do you feel overwhelmed at the thought of starting yet another diet or weight loss program? Are you overwhelmed thinking of how you will find the time to workout?
Do you find yourself unable to get motivated to lose weight because you feel so overwhelmed with life in general?
I have found that in order to experience the highest level of energy, health, fitness, and weight loss, I need to take the time to cook my own meals from whole ingredients. I do cook in bulk on the weekends for the coming week (it would be far too overwhelming to cook every day); however even setting aside that time can be a challenge.
It would be very easy for me to use this as an excuse and completely lose all motivation for my weight loss goals. I could start thinking that I just don’t have enough time to fit everything in, and just sink into my feelings of overwhelm. I could end up feeling defeated before I even started a weight loss program.
I read an interesting quote on the topic of overwhelm that struck a chord with me. In this quote by John-Roger and Peter McWilliams, they ask “what did you experience too much of while you were growing up?” I had not thought that my feelings of overwhelm could have originated from how I grew up, but instead had attributed them to the current busy lifestyle that I (and most of us) lead. Instead, I can now see where my feelings of overwhelm began, and at the same time hold the awareness of this fact.
As long as you are conscious of the fact that this sense of overwhelm is coming from you (and possibly related to past events), then you can change this feeling and your point of view. This puts the power to change in your court, rather than believing that outside events in today’s busy lifestyle (which in part, you have no control over), are causing your overwhelm.
Please read the following quote and see what you come up with for yourself:
Are you easily overwhelmed? If so, answer this question in your
journal:While growing up, what did you experience too much of?
Experiencing too much of something leads to feelings of overwhelm. When
we’re young, overwhelm can lead us to believe that we are not capable
or that we are not good enough. These are power issues.Awareness of when we are feeling overwhelmed can help us go inside,
claim our power and change our experience of any situation.“When we know that the cause of something is in ourselves, and that we
(ourselves) are one of the few things in the universe that we have the
right and ability to change, we begin to get a sense of the choices we
really do have, an inkling of the power we have, a feeling of being in
charge… of our lives, of our future, of our dreams.”— John-Roger and Peter McWilliams
It is true that the only one that you can change is yourself. When you are able to acknowledge that any feelings of overwhelm are coming from inside of you, based on the choices that you make, then you can take back your power and make different choices.
You hold the power to change you (no one else does). I find this to be very motivating, since it is all up to me whether or not I choose to make the time for my weight loss and exercise program. If I feel overwhelmed, then I need to remember that my physical well-being is on the top of my list of priorities, and I may need to let go of other activities that rank lower on my list.
You can do the same; you are the only one that stands in the way of achieving your goal of weight loss, just like I am the only one who could stop myself from achieving my weight loss goals.
