Signs of overwhelm as a CEO

The first sign of overwhelm is the realisation that what needs to be done can’t be done without sacrificing what you said was important to you.

That’s the inner conflict that causes the feeling of overwhelm.

The second sign though is rarely spoken about and I really think it’s important.

The second sign is the BELIEF that your current approach is the only way possible.

The brain has moved into threat which means that we believe we are viewing all possible avenues but in reality we are only capable of travelling old neural pathways.

This is a built in survival mechanism not a measure of intelligence… in fact the more intelligent someone is that more easily they can convince themselves they are thinking creatively.

Johan had acknowledged his overwhelm to his co-founders but there was no way he would have come to me had he not been pushed by his co-founders.

He came to me with an admission of scepticism in coaching and what was possible for him in this situation.

Something that threat thinking often does to us is cause us to think in absolutes.

It’s doesn’t see that direction always trumps speed.

It forgets that process always beats amount time and effort applied.

It dismisses that the exact same process followed with calm and focus is infinitely better than when followed with anxiety and stress.

We explored minor details, made minor changes, 10% improvement here, 10% increased efficiency there. More certainty there.

He didn’t just go from overwhelmed to not overwhelmed.

He became the most effective person in the company becoming a mentor to others, leading the most amount of teams and individuals and becoming a thought leader.

All overwhelm really means is that you are ready to upgrade your systems of thinking to match the level of challenge you have invited into your life.

If that’s you, I have 10 spaces left on my REWIRE programme before the price goes up.