Sometimes, things are just so overwhelming that you want to burn it all down.
I mean, why not just move to Hawaii and become a hula dancer?
Or rage quit your job and tell every coworker what you really think.
This feeling is normal, and it's not a place anyone wants to stay for very long.
Instead of feeling shame or being critical of that, I want you to look at yourself with
generosity and compassion.
Take a moment to pause and start to notice where you are feeling that desire to escape
everything and everyone in your body.
Does your head feel like it wants to explode with rage?
Do you feel pressure, tension, or panic in your chest or maybe even your stomach?
Maybe your arms feel heavy or tight, or your shoulders are practically up into your ears
with tension.
Just notice where that feeling is coming from.
Now imagine that part that wants to burn it all down and escape takes a step back from
your body and gives you space.
As you look at that part, can you find in yourself compassion for its exhaustion?
Can you look at it with kindness, knowing that it's trying its best to protect you
in the best way it knows how?
Sometimes I like to imagine myself beaming over compassion and kindness to that part,
kind of like the Care Bear Share in that old TV show from the Care Bears.
If this feels good and is helping you calm yourself, you can press pause here and stay
here as long as you'd like.
If you're feeling a bit calmer and want to begin some problem solving for this overwhelm,
then go ahead and keep listening.
Burn it all down mode is a sign that your mental and emotional load is outpacing your
capacity.
It does not mean that your capacity is too low or that you are too tired.
Or that you are too weak or deficient in some way.
It just means that your load right now does not match your capacity right now.
When we radically accept that this is where we are without judging or condemning ourselves,
we can say something like, it is what it is.
My capacity is what it is right now.
Continue to imagine that that part that wants to burn it all down is still taking a step
back from you.
As you notice that part, bring to mind the list of the main stressors on your plate right
now.
Go slow and imagine that you and this part are looking at that list together.
Burn it all down mode can usually fill us with a lot of energy.
So first, find something on that list that you want to take care of next.
Taking action is a way to direct all that energy and use it in a way that benefits us
instead of leaving it raging inside of you.
Next, find something on the list that you need to let go of for today.
Maybe it's your plan to cook a full meal for dinner tonight and you opt for takeout
or a cereal night instead.
Maybe there's someone that you're upset with, but you can't resolve that conflict today
and letting it loop through your brain is making it worse.
Press pause on that loop and set it aside for a day in time that you can productively
process it.
Now I want you to shift gears just a little bit.
When burn it all down mode burns hot in us, we can start to magnify all the tasks and
hard things in life and minimize the joy and the fun.
Imagine showing that part that wants to burn it all down, the joys and delights in your
life today.
Maybe there are special things, but there are also daily delights that we sometimes
gloss over when the speed of life gets too fast.
As you imagine those joys and delights, picture them moving forward toward you.
The closer an object is, the larger it appears in comparison to what's behind it.
I hope this exercise has brought you a little bit of peace and maybe even a little bit of
to what has been otherwise a pretty stressful day.
Overwhelm is common, but it does not have to rule your life.