Feeling overwhelmed seems to be a constant in most people's lives today. Too much work, endless to-do lists, too many demands, too many bills to pay, too much! This may lead to feeling helpless and unable to do anything.
When faced with the challenge of too much, we often think that we have to take big steps according to the magnitude of how overwhelmed we feel. It may seem counter-intuitive; however, small simple steps will make the biggest difference over time. This concept is also known as the domino effect.
Small steps that you can take right away to start a positive domino effect in your life:
- smile
- breathe deeply
- go for a walk
- appreciate someone or something
- stretch
- laugh
- sing
- listen
- hold the door for someone
What led us to the place of feeling overwhelmed tend to be many seemingly small choices, such as going to bed late, skipping a meal, eating junk food, watching TV or excessive complaining.
When you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, take the following simple small steps:
- Write down all of the things that are bothering you on one piece of paper (or two if your list is long).
- Then choose three things that you most want to change right now. Circle these three things.
- For each of the three things you circled, identify one baby step that you want to take.
- Take action immediately and revisit your three things the next day and identify the next baby steps you can take.
- With the small simple steps you will start a positive domino effect in your life and within weeks and months you will be able to achieve major shifts with less effort.
Once you are choosing to take positive action with these seemingly small steps, you have set a positive chain reaction in motion. The dynamic is well-illustrated in this one-minute video. We need to begin by choosing wisely in the little things.
Let the domino effect work for you and not against you! Every small step counts!
