Joy Overload

I love the Fall.  I am inspired by the ever-changing landscape and the kaleidoscope of beautiful colours on my walks, like in this photo I took the other day of a carpet of leaves covering the grass.  

I also love variety. Variety in my work. Variety in my friendships.  Variety in my learning. In fact, as I reviewed my calendar today for the next couple weeks, I had to giggle a bit.  This love of variety is showing up loud and clear.   Over the next 2 weeks, I will:

• Finalize and submit my application for my next-level coaching certification
• Attend evening classes twice a week to complete a course on stock trading
• Read a business book about coaching inquiry
• Finish a wonderful novel about small town Italy in the 50’s
• Onboard 3 new 1:1 coaching clients
• Coach existing clients
• Facilitate 2 half-day workshops
• Record 2 podcast episodes
• Have 2 networking conversations
• Reconcile my expenses with Quickbooks (ugh)
• Build a website page for my new offering
• Submit an application to speak at an event
• Drive my son to Tae Kwon Do a couple times
• Track incoming rent from our income properties
• Visit our tenants to deliver holiday gifts of thanks
• Choose new carpet for our stairs at home
• Plan out our powder room reno
• Attend interviews with my son’s teachers
• Meet a friend downtown for dinner
• Visit a Christmas tree farm to cut down our tree
• Host a holiday dinner party with good friends
• Celebrate my birthday

Whew!  I’m exhausted just reading this non-exhaustive list. And therein lies the rub.   I love variety, and usually it loves me back. But sometimes, my love for it sneaks up on me from behind and takes my breath away, bringing with it overwhelm and fatigue if I don’t notice it in time.

Just this month, I realized I was operating under stress.  I’ve started grinding my teeth at night again after stopping a few years back when I left my stressful job.  

At first, when the headaches and jaw pain started, I was so puzzled - because I haven’t been UNhappy!  In fact, after a very difficult 2020 spent in deep grief, I was revelling in my joyful place of productivity and...variety!  

We so often equate stress with negative emotions and with being unhappy. And yet, we can invite too-heavy doses of stress even when enjoying ourselves.  The overwhelm can take over when we are simply saying yes to too much of the stuff we enjoy doing.  

As I review that list above, I recognize that some things will need to come off the list.  Maybe I’ll start that new business book in January, and we’ll go choose the carpet over the holidays - or defer to the new year as well.  I’m also going to make sure I stay true to my 5pm Wellness Hours so that I get a good dose of downtime to recharge.

What about you?    

What do you do to prevent overwhelm that comes from taking on too much FUN stuff?

How do you recover when you do find yourself in "joy overload?"