I was reminded of an interview this morning as I went for a walk to clear my head because I was feeling overwhelmed. It was with TD Jakes at the Global Leadership Summit. I remembered the conversation andI knew there would be something in there I would have probably missed before so I pulled it out to watch again when I got back from my walk.
In the interview, he is asked about a time he was speaking at a conference with the interviewer and came off the stage and apologise knowing that that wasn’t his best because he was exhausted. The interviewer asked himto explain, what had led him to that point, what had happened and how did he dig himself out of that hole.
He replies that anytime you take on new things it takes you a while to learn how to manage it. The incubation period is where you are going to be overwhelmed. Sometimes we underestimate how much it will cost you to deliver it. You are going to be depleted and exhausted and that’s okay. Everyone gets tired….., but you don’t want to stay tired, you want to figure it out. When things are overwhelming to me, it is a sign thatI need to restructure. It means my structure is deficient for the weight load that I am carrying. It doesn’t mean I can’t do it, it means I have to restructure in order to be able to do it.
And then he said, "It is not where we want to go that is the biggest problem to figure out, it is what are you willing to leave behind in order to get there. What do I need to let go of that I am able to do what I have to do today"?
Growth costs us time, energy, and resources. Going to the next level sounds very romantic and even noble, but do we count the cost, and are we prepared to pay it in order to get to where we know we have to go?
This week I have been so out of my comfort zone that it has rocked my confidence levels in all areas of my life, I went to bed with my heart pounding last night. Wondering if I can do anything, never mind sustaining the new load I was experiencing. In my head, I know I am capable and have the capacity to do it, but the overwhelm in my heart was making me seriously doubt myself in a pervading way.
That walk allowed me the space to think about that interview and watching that interview gave me the encouragement I needed to remember what I know. You can choose growth or comfort, you can’t have both.
I’m off to build some structures to accommodate the growth, I’m leaning into the discomfort of that.
What is making you feel overwhelmed right now? How do you deal with it?
