For the overwhelmed
If you’re a WOC or POC who is feeling stressed and overwhelmed AF, this one’s for you.
I've been feeling this for a while, kind of "in the ether," so to speak (and I feel it personally, too), but I wanted to share a few thoughts about what to do in times of overwhelm. To me, it really breaks down to 3 common scenarios among WOCs, nonbinary POCs, and POCs in general.
Scenario #1: Something is looming over you
If you're feeling overwhelmed because of something looming, e.g., the fear of impending layoffs, worries about financial runway or business revenue drying up, set yourself a "Reverse Deadline." What this means is you:
Choose some date in the future
Between now and then, you're not allowed to think or stress about the thing, and
During this interim time, you will focus on what is within your control (check out my 4-min video on Circles of Control here) to improve your situation instead, like:
shoring up your stress management strategies
focusing on amping up your networking efforts
build up your side hustle revenue stream
More on the Life-changing magic of setting your own deadline in this 5-min video here.
Scenario #2: Other people are overwhelming you
If you're overwhelmed because of other people's shenanigans, incompetence, Caucasity (you know what I mean!), divest your energy ASAP 🙅🏽♀️
More on this from the archives of our newsletter, The Trajectory here.
Scenario #3: Your plate is overflowing…in a bad way
If you're overwhelmed by the sheer volume of EVERYTHING that's on your plate, triage and maintain perspective.
If you're like me and you tend to get overwhelmed by multiple to-do lists, frequent task-switching, maybe some people-pleasing tendencies to say yes to too many things 🥲, try asking yourself:
What's the worst that will happen if...
I don't answer this email right away...?
I don't get to XYZ task...ever...?
a certain timeline gets pushed back a few weeks...?
If it's not a matter of life/death or someone's freedom, and it's simply a matter of someone-else-might-be-upset or a timeline might get pushed...so be it! 🪷
Practice self-compassion and cut yourself some slack! (I recommend the Self-Compassion Skills Workbook on our list of recommended books; disclosure: it's written by a White cis-man who's a mindfulness-based therapist)
And if it is a matter of life/death / liberty, then yes, prioritize those things. The rest can slide 💗
Alrighty, I hope some of this helps, and you already know, if you could use some 1:1 support on this, sign up to get matched to one of our POC career coaches who can help you out ASAP!
And if the timing isn’t right for coaching right now, never fear, we’re relaunching our Resource Library full of budget-friendly resources very soon! Sign up for The Trajectory in the footer to get VIP access to it!