Updated: Jan 11
Imagine my heels clip clopping across the tarmac...
They were Louboutins (these are good ones for all the boys reading)
I had my Mulberry handbag slung across my shoulder
Phone in hand
Thinking I'd made it!
I was "Successful" right?
Now imagine the clip clopping of my heels again...
You can hear them going faster and faster to the point where you can hardly tell it's heels on the tarmac
You shout out to tell me to slow down as you can see I'm gonna fall
But the wind takes away your voice
Then you hear the innevitable thump
I crashed
My 70+ hours a week in a corporate high flying job, I was developing properties, I was doing a Psychology degree and me thinking I could have it all had caused me to have an almighty burnout
An 8 month burnout to be exact!
My head felt fine, but my body was like "No chance I'm letting you get out of bed"
This burnout was like nothing I'd ever experienced
I couldn't go to work and I was self-employed
It was the first time I'd ever been really seriously ill
There was several points where I thought that I would die
And I didn't know what to do
I felt like a complete failure
And I thought I could have it all!
What a load of Sh1t!
Trying to have it all had caused me to go head and shoulders over the waterfall into a deep raveen the other side
Where I didn't have a life jacket
I didn't have a support system
And one where I began to make super bad decisions
And I didn't have bloody clue it was even coming!
I was literally spinning so many plates they had all started to crash down around me
I'd set too many plates spinning at the same time and I didn't know how to stop them
So they just kept spinning
And spinning...
And spinning...
Until they started to fall off one by one
"I can handle this" I said
But my burnout caused me to become like a passenger in my own body
I could only watch as the plates slowed down, then started to wobble, then started to fall off one by one crashing to the floor breaking into a thousand pieces
My bad decisions definitely stem from this point onward
I ended up in an abusive relationship which I never would have got into had I not felt so low
I found out I couldn't have children at a similar time even though I'd always wanted to be a mum
I felt trapped and controlled
The plates were still all smashed on the floor, I'd not even had the energy to sweep up the mess
But one day as my partner was shouting at me, I felt this surge of energy
I finally QUIT my relationship
I QUIT my corporate job
And I QUIT my current sh1tty life
I'd never been a quitter but I was driven to start again
I knew trying to glue the smashed plates together was not something I should even begin to try to do
So instead I decided to buy some new plates
But not a full set
Just a couple
I became an Entrepreneur
Weirdly the freedom it gave me helped me feel much more secure
I finished my Psychology degree
And I stopped developing properties
My friendships had been hugely affected by my ex partners role in my life so I knew I needed to focus on them and rebuilding them
The legacy effects of a controlling, physical and verbally abusive relationship stay with you for years
I didn't realise that I was suffering from PTSD due to a suicide attempt he'd made
And I found that I knew nothing about building a business
But I did it anyway
It's probably taken me 3 times as long to build a business as someone else
I had brain fog, PTSD and a life to rebuild
But 3 years on I'm running my business and I'm working with people that I absolutely love
So how did I do this?
How have I turned my life around?
What made me get up one day and think ENOUGH?
Just 3 simple things which I'm going to share with you in just a minute
There's something I want to say to you before and you MAY NOT LIKE IT
But you need to hear it....
If you can challenge me on this then please do but I'm 100% certain that this is the complete truth...
OVERWHELM IS A CHOICE
Think about it....
Who started each of those plates spinning?
Was it you?
Then you get to choose to stop them as well
I now live a life where I almost never get overwhelmed
And you can too
So what are the 3 Steps to Stop Overwhelm?
1. Firstly you need to FOCUS
Have a look at what plates you have currently got spinning? Can you stop any of them?
Now think clearly about how you can structure your life and business differently?
What can you stop?
Then use this time to really FOCUS
2. Second you need FREEDOM
I can do the same amount of work in 1 DAY than I used to in 1 WEEK
I want you to really think about what you're good at?
What are your strengths?
What are you not good at and could you get someone else to do this?
Once you know these you will find that your days are naturally easier, they will flow more and you will realise you have at least an extra hour a day everyday
3. Thirdly you need FUN
What is it that you used to do that brought you joy?
Did you know that happier people are at least 20% more productive?
So by doing things which make you happy, you will automatically be able to do things quicker
Conclusion
Now that you know that overwhelm can be a choice, you can use the 3 F's to stop that feeling of overwhelm in your own life.
Love
Nikki xx
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