Pressing Pause Podcast episode 66 What if… it went right?
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Welcome to Pressing Pause. I’m Gabrielle Treanor, a coach and writer, and I’m here to share with you ideas, inspiration and actions to empower you to overcome your overwhelm so you can feel calm, confident and in control.
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Hello and welcome to episode 66.
Before I begin I wanted to let you know that if you’re feeling overwhelmed by everything that’s happening in the world, or simply by the everyday noise and busyness of life, I’ve written a guide to help you with your overwhelm and it’s completely free for you to download. It’s called the 7 Steps to Overcome Introvert Overwhelm guide and you can find it at gabrielletreanor.com, I’ll include a link in the show notes. I give you straight forward, practical ideas for what you can do when you’re feeling frazzled and worn out and it’s free so get your guide from gabrielletreanor.com.
Now, today I thought I’d share with you a tricky question I was posed in an interview a while ago. I was asked to imagine I was stood on a mountain top and the world was listening – what would I say
So, no pressure then, just the whole world listening! I decided not to overthink it (hah!) and go with my gut, with what sprang to mind and felt right.
The very first thing I said was that you have choices, you have more power than you think.Because it often doesn’t feel like we do, does it? We have responsibilities and deadlines and to do lists. We have people depending on us and expectations to meet. There are societal pressures and years of conditioning. With the pandemic we have all kinds of rules to follow that tell us how we’re allowed to go about our daily lives. We can feel pretty powerless when we can’t even hug the people we love.
And then there are the things that technically we’re allowed to do, no-one has expressly forbidden it, but we just don’t see how we can. We don’t feel like we really should. We might really want to but it just seems too far out of reach.
Perhaps you don’t want to carry on doing the same job for the next 20 years but how could you possibly embark on a new career now?
Maybe you want to have clear surfaces, tidy cupboards and know where to find whatever you’re looking for, but the house is too much of a mess so how could you ever get it all sorted, and then keep it like that?
You have people relying and depending on you, you’ve a to do list as long as your arm, so how could you possibly find the time to do the things that you want, and not feel guilty about it too?
You don’t want to be juggling a gazillion balls, feeling stressed out and overwhelmed, but that’s just how your life is, how could you really feel relaxed and happy?
There are plenty more examples, I’m sure some are pinging into mind right now, where you think that while the idea of doing things differently, of feeling differently, is great it’s just not possible for you. It’s for other people.
But, what if it isn’t? What if it could be possible for you?
What if – and let’s use the what if to our advantage for once – what if you entertain the possibility that maybe you have more choices than you think? What if maybe you could do things that you think are difficult? I’m not saying it’s just a matter of declaring anything’s possible, clicking your fingers and life’s a dream. That’s not it.
But what if maybe, just maybe, you do have more power over your own life than it feels like you do? What if things could be different and in a way that feels good, that feels better than how they feel right now?
Here’s the thing with what ifs – there are always two sides to them but usually we focus on the what-if-it-all-went-horribly-disastrously-wrong side.
But, what if it went right?
What if you could find freedom, fulfilment and joy in a different career?
What if you could have a home that felt organised, calm and comfortable?
What if you could take care of other people AND do what feels good for you too?
What if you could feel calmer, more in charge of your time and actually enjoy your life?
What if you have choices and more power than you think?
I challenge you to entertain the idea. Not to get bogged down with the how, not to see the whole staircase, but to simply allow yourself to imagine that there is a staircase and that you could take the first step, to paraphrase the great Dr Martin Luther King.
How does that feel – the idea that you do have choices, that you do have power to take one step towards being, feeling, living life in a way that feels good for you?
How would you feel if (allow yourself to dream for a moment) your what if actually came into being? If the more easeful, peaceful, joyful, fulfilling, fun – however you describe it – life that you want but think is out of reach could actually be within your grasp?
What if…
Take a few moments to explore these questions and see what comes up for you. Do you feel a bubble of excitement? Does the how question instantly take over? Or does the fear of the possibility burst the bubble?
Maybe you can see the beginning of the staircase and you’re itching to start climbing it. Allow yourself to dream, to imagine the dream becoming a reality and let the hope seep into your bones.
If you’d like to share with me as always I would love to hear from you. You can find me on Instagram as @gabrielletreanor or you can email me [email protected].
Don’t forget there’s my free 7 Steps to Overcome Introvert Overwhelm guide that’s free for you to download from gabrielletreanor.com, I’ll put the link in the show notes. Have a look around, there are lots of resources on my site to help you bring down your overwhelm and feel calmer, more in control and feel more joy in everyday life.
Thanks for listening, until next time, lovely people.
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