The common theme of the 2020s is being overwhelmed. To say that the decade of the 2020s started with tremendous overwhelm is an UNDERSTATEMENT.

A pandemic, economic distress, societal upheaval, economic uncertainty, political chaos, natural disasters, and numerous world conflicts are all overwhelming on their own, but to have them all happen simultaneously is overwhelming.

Slowing down and prioritizing are ways to deal with being overwhelmed. However, our culture has done the opposite. Instead of slowing down and re-evaluating our current ways of life, we add more noise to the fray and more things to do.

Everyday life is overwhelming on its own, and when we add on the chaos and confusion of our world, we need practical strategies to adapt and navigate our current situation to avoid being in a permanent state of overwhelm.

While we cannot predict the future and what other calamities await us in the 2020’s, we can do our part to break up with everyday overwhelm.

4 Ways to break up with overwhelm

Stop the comparison game
Limit Social Media Consumption
Eliminate
Keep YOUR Main thing YOUR Main thing

Stop the Comparison Game

Many of us feel as if we are in a race where we are hopelessly behind. No matter what we’ve done, what we’ve accomplished, or what we’re currently doing, we always feel behind, so we push ourselves to do more and hustle harder.

We sign up for more hobbies, events, classes, programs, etc. in the hopes that we will catch up to our perceived competitors who are always ahead. We compare ourselves to those who seem to “have it all” and try to mimic and copy what they’re doing because we want to feel like we’re not complete failures.

Stop the comparison game. Most of the time, we lack context to people’s “success,” and we also don’t know the struggles that they’ve gone through to get where they are. We hear the amazing accomplishments, but we either romanticize or downplay the struggles.

There have been times in my life when I’ve compared myself to others and got really down on myself, only to find out that their success was all a lie.

Instead of looking at others as competition, remind yourself that you are running your own race. Compete with yourself. Ask yourself where you are today compared to three years ago. I’m sure you’ve made tremendous progress.

If you’re looking at others, use them for inspiration, not comparison.

Limit Social Media Consumption

I decided to deactivate my social media because I was always tired of seeing bad news. I also tire of people taking personal moments and posting them for attention. I thought I was alone until a woman posted on X (formerly Twitter) that it seems like people are posting to see who can share the worst news.

We are not built to take in the bad news of thousands of people daily. Once I deactivated my social media, I realized that I would only hear a news story 1–2 times a day at the maximum. On social media, it’s a nonstop bombardment of the worst stories of the day for hours on end. This definitely contributes to feeling overwhelmed.

Social media also contributes to overwhelm by sucking up time that we could be doing more fulfilling activities. I’m certain that I am back writing on Medium because instead of scrolling through social media and watching others, I am using my time to write and do other activities that feed my soul.

Eliminate unnecessary activity and consumption

We are all doing and consuming too much.

After the pandemic restrictions were lifted, people seemed to be in a rush to “get back to normal.” The new normal included making up for all the time lost in 2020 and 2021. It seemed like a barrage of new programs, activities, events, and other things to do. It all became very overwhelming as everyone competed for a limited time on schedules.

I understand that many businesses and organizations experienced decreased revenues during the pandemic and are now trying to recoup costs. However, I don’t need to be at everyone’s everything, nor do you.

I enjoy taking intentional breaks from certain activities and events. These breaks allow me to evaluate whether this is something that they want to eliminate or keep doing. Perhaps the season has shifted, and it’s time to let it go.

We should also consider eliminating so much consumption, which can become financially overwhelming. With the current economic realities, it is wise to start evaluating and eliminating nonessential expenses. Our need to consume and to pay for that consumption has become overwhelming. Remember that influencer culture and advertising aim to get you to BUY and CONSUME more services or products.

Before adding any activity or program, I make it a point to eliminate something else. Before making purchases, I ask myself if I really need it and I also ask how it will change my life.

Keep YOUR Main Thing YOUR Main Thing

We are all in different seasons of life. Maybe you’re building your career, maybe you’re building your family, maybe you’re a caregiver, maybe you’re cultivating a community, or maybe you’re doing all of these different things.

If we want to break up without being overwhelmed, we need to keep the main thing the main thing, but that is different for everyone depending on the season you are in.

I’ve been in positions where I am spread too thin because I have made someone else’s main thing my main thing when I didn’t have the heart or energy for it. During those times, I’ve had to come back to myself and ask, “What is my main thing?” if those things aren’t aligned, then something has to go.

Life is challenging, and our modern way of living adds to the challenge by placing more expectations upon us that none could live up to.

This may be another challenging and chaotic year, but let’s focus our attention on the choices we can make daily to make our own lives less chaotic and overwhelming.