Here are 20 believes that I’ve seen create overwork:
1. I love my work.
2. I am so busy.
3. I might as well do it myself.
4. They will be upset (if I don’t do this).
5. They expect me to work long hours.
6. It’s a part of the culture to work long hours.
7. It will be my fault (if it doesn’t get done).
8. I don’t want to be (thought of as) lazy.
9. If I am not available, others will think poorly of me.
10. Achievement/Success comes from the number of hours I work/time I put in.
11. I’m holding others back (if I don’t do this).
12. Once this is done, I’ll feel better.
13. The work I do is important.
14. I just need a vacation.
15. I just want to do a good job/my best.
16. If I don’t respond quickly, others will think poorly of me.
17. Their time is more important than my time
18. Their ideas/thoughts are more important than mine.
19. I need their approval to go forward
20. I don’t know why I am so exhausted (all the time).
Geez, do I ever feel these – how about you?
Notice they are not all “negative” thoughts per se.
They may have served you or be serving you at times.
And notice your brain might say, yeah but it’s true or yeah but, there’s nothing I can do about that.
Here’s what you can control.
Your brain has spent a lot of time gathering evidence for these thoughts.
Coaching has helped me to spend a bit of time wondering about the other side of these thoughts, how they might not be so true, always.
Coaching has been a catalyst to expand my awareness, to open up the possibility of something new, a different perspective to serve me better.
So, here’s a fun way to start to play with this and expand your current perspective to create new result the of not overworking:
➡️ Review these 20 thoughts. Which ones resonate for you?
➡️ Then, for each one, do some journaling, and write down:
➡️ How might this be true (limit to 3)? Why?
➡️ How might this not be true (stretch to 5) ? Why?
At first your brain will be full of reasons why it’s true – that’s why
I suggest the limit.
Your brain has already spent a lot of time here, so we want to acknowledge it here first (otherwise it will be a little brain battle as you try to look for other perspectives).
Then, stretch your brain to see why it might not be true.
It might be blank at first. 😐
This is normal for your human brain 🧠.
Exactly what we are expecting.
Sit with it for a few minutes and keep asking with curiosity until you come up with 5.
You will open up the possibility that there’s a different perspective, which is ALWAYS something you can control.
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Melissa E Anders 