“Ruthlessly Slaughter” is a pretty powerful phrase so let me explain to you why I’ve chosen to use it for the title of this article. It’s because overwhelm is like a crooked thief who sneaks into people’s lives and steals their dreams and leaves them depressed at the prospect of being unfilled in their lives.
So in this article, we’re putting that dastardly thief squarely in our gun sight’s and we’re going to blast ‘em away once and for all! Overwhelm is what happens you get a big, hairy project that you want to do and then you smack your forehead with your head and go “UGH!” Then you might swear a little bit (if you swear) and then say to yourself, “How the heck am I going to do this?
It reminds me of the little Japanese guy who eats about 50 hot dogs in 13 or so minutes in the annual 4th of July “hot-dog” eating contest. He routinely thrashes guys who are 6’4” in height and 350+ pounds. Remember, this dude is 5’7” and 150 or so pounds. At first glance, this seems like an oversized task that could weigh heavy on anybody wanting to do it, especially this little guy. But he doesn’t get overwhelmed.
Instead, this guy breaks the hot dogs in half, dips the buns in water, then pops ‘em in his mouth as he does a little dance and swallows them down. And he keeps doing this for 13 or so minutes. This guy obviously knows how to conquer overwhelm. Jeez. The mere thought of gorging myself on 50 of “them” things is a wretched thought to me.
Ok, you got to enjoy that little story because we’re talking about overwhelm and we can learn from this kid. If something is big, break it up into smaller and smaller portions. Sometimes, I zoom into my “planning nut” mode where I will plan a project down to the last detail and then I can be brain-dead and just follow my plan. No ifs, ands, or buts. I’ve already thought out all the details and then I just execute, execute, execute.
What I’m getting at here is that you can break things down into component parts, plan well (very detailed!) how to execute that component, and then just go for it. This Japanese hot dog eating champion has a strategy for eating and it works. He doesn’t get overwhelmed.
To recap, here’s how to ruthlessly slaughter overwhelm:
- Break things down until they are physical actions you can do
- Set a quick deadline for getting things done so you afford yourself the luxury of pontificating about “overwhelm” (I learned this technique from my brother who planned his “dream” wedding in 2 weeks flat without any prior experience just by going for it! Look for his ‘wedding planner’ homestudy course in a month!)
- Plan twice as much upfront (it’ll save you boatloads of time later)
- Enlist a friend or team (Stop trying to do it all yourself! The “teacher” in real life ain’t handing out ‘A’ grades for “keeping your eyes on your own paper” We’re in this together so let’s help each other.)
Hey bucko, make it fun! What can you do to reward yourself for getting real results?
There you go. Rest In Peace Overwhelm. It died today. You’ll never be overwhelmed again when you follow this strategy. Conceive of things differently and you’ll get the results you want and DESERVE.
Kent Sayre is a worldwide persuasion expert and author of the bestselling book “Unstoppable Confidence” endorsed by such celebrity authors as Brian Tracy, Robert Allen, and Jim Rohn.
Further Reading:
Killing Procrastination Instantly