We enter a state of overwhelm when we exceed the tipping point…that point when even a little more becomes too much.

I love coffee, chocolate, even an occasional soft drink….notice that everything on this list can contain caffeine.  I’ve tried decaf, but it doesn’t rock my boat…and….I’m not willing to completely give up something which gives me so much pleasure, and may actually be good? for me in some ways.  I want to believe what I’ve been hearing about the benefits of caffeine!

I did make some new caffeine choices though…I limited my intake to 2 cups of coffee a day…with a little chocolate sneaked in. 

I know, upfront and personally, why we associate too much caffeine with anxiety fits, bad temper, and meltdown.  Don’t write to me about this!  I love coffee…remember?   So I’m making new choices which don’t involve decaf, that version of a caffeinated product in which the caffeine is greatly reduced, or removed.  For one, I’m drinking more water at the times of day I would have had a cup of coffee or tea, and that’s working for me. 

All this emphasis on my caffeeine intake made me think about decaf again, because I always wish I liked decaf.  Life would be simpler if I did.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could decaf other things…what if we could remove the factor which causes us the problem in things other than coffee. Remember, overwhelm can result from good stuff, gone bad….the overwhelm we experience often results from a tipping point, just like caffeine, or too much of any good thing. 

What happens to most of us is we go merrily along, able to manage some stress, and keep our balance, but it’s easy to get overloaded.  Remember, a lot of stress sneaks in, because it’s brought on by good change in our lives.  We may think we’re managing the stress overload…..but then we have a little too much stress…a tipping point….and suddenly we’re overwhelmed.

What if we could backup, rewind, and delete, before we get to the tipping point?  What if, like my coffee habit, we could allow ourselves a certain amount of stress, and then switch to something better for us? Life would be simpler if we never let ourselves reach that tipping point into overwhelm.

—-Nip Tips—-

• Give yourself permission to see areas where you’re getting unbalanced….Use your meditation, your prayers, your journal, to start to notice your high risk areas
• Make a list of those areas which buzz and juice you….these are areas which you may love to overload, because they initially make you feel good
• Mark your personal calendar for times throughout the year to check yourself so you’re not overloading these areas 

 Here are some examples of buzz areas for me.  You’ll have your own list:

Caretaking:  Helping others while I’m neglecting my own needs

Time scheduling:  Loading a day, a week, or a month with must do’s that don’t allow any time or space for relaxation

Stockpiling:  Adding more stuff, more supplies, more research, without using up what I have

One of the things we learn in childhood, but sometimes forget, is it’s a lot easier to maintain our balance, than to restore balance when it’s lost. 

Make time and make effort to make choices to keep life balanced….As my mother used to say, “There can always be too much of a good thing!”

Joy & Blessings, Carole  xxx