Overwhelmed? Life getting too much for you?

Is this what's going on? Is life getting too much for you? Not only are work, responsibilities, and deadlines crowding around, but you're adding to your stress by not stopping to smell the roses, and taking the time to just breathe?

Here's a tried and tested recipe to help yourself get your breath back, and relieve the stress brought on by the compulsion to appear and feel more intelligent, more successful, richer, cooler, smarter, better in every way than the next guy, or girl. Sure, you can be and do all of this if that's what you want - but now and then if you give yourself a break from it you'll start getting to know a very special person! This person is no other than the 'real' and/or 'authentic' part of you, that's always been lurking within - presumably never, or very seldom acknowledged by you. To re-acquaint yourself with this part, a simple exercise may help. Write down the four lines below on a piece of paper, and memorize them. Think of them often during the day, especially during moments you find yourself feeling overwhelmed. I stumbled upon two of the lines in the verse below, but in trying to effectively use the idea, I added two more to create the little verse. I used to actually call it my 'mantra'. It helped me a lot during a phase when I used to 'beat myself up' a lot for not meeting my own high expectations of myself, and pushing myself to do and be more, and still more. What I know today is that when we get like this, it isn't at all for ourselves that we want to be a certain way. We do it because of a deep feeling of insecurity, and a sad and negative belief that by having more, by being more, or doing more, we'll get the attention/affection/validation/love etc. that we need from others.

The verse is:

I KNOW ENOUGH
I DO ENOUGH
I HAVE ENOUGH
I AM ENOUGH

The way I used it was, I had written it out neatly, and framed it in a 5"x7" frame and placed it on my bedside table. And there it stayed for the longest time, until one day I looked at it and realized that the things I wanted to know, to do, to have, and to be were for myself - not because I wanted to be seen as a person who had them, to in turn be admired for them. Operating from that space is what is stressful! Wanting a certain experience for yourself is very different than wanting an experience to elicit a reaction from others. This difference is very subtle, almost elusive - it is easy to miss the distinction, because it is very easy to get caught in the deception and the games our minds play with us. The 'authentic self' is outside of the games - it doesn't care to impress, or await others' admiration and appreciation. It's this 'authentic self' that just IS ... and the more we get to know it, the less stressed we will be.

Kiki ;-)