When you have a huge ‘to-do’ list, as many of my professional clients do, they often come to me for help on how to overcome overwhelm.
Rachel, a participant in a Peak Resilience Accelerator group, was growing her team, but struggled to see what tasks to easily pass on to each member.
She shared that she was ‘feeling disorganised, struggling to finish things, and had a need for perfectionism while also fearing judgement from others.’
Not an easy place to live psychologically. Learning how to overcome overwhelm was vital for her.
As with all of my PRA clients, we spent time creating an ever-evolving list of ‘What went better than expected.’
We then reviewed all that was going well (even the tiny things!), Rachel was able to find the positive in her experiences, rather than give in to her tendency to ‘spiral down.’
Spiralling Up vs Spiralling Down
Rachel had made progress with each week, and as we talked through the benefits of the PRA for her, she recognised the programme was asking her who she was comparing herself to.
Rachel laughed: ‘I realised I was comparing myself to people who had been doing my job for 20 years longer, had bigger teams, and often were in different countries!’
She continued: ‘When I realised that, I realised it wasn’t a very fair internal fight for me to have with myself and much of my pent up stress lifted!’
By the time Rachel finished the PRA, she reported she’d had her most successful financial half-year ever.
However, what made the difference was her new skill of ‘spiralling up’ and overcoming overwhelm faster.
‘Yes, this is tough – but what went better than expected?’
For Rachel, that meant having a positive default position with her team and keeping them focused, while delegating and setting expectations and clearer boundaries.
Rachel’s gains weren’t surprising, as research shows those with higher Positive Intelligence (PQ) scores – the type we grow in the PRA – enjoy greater success at work.
Do You ‘Spiral Down’?
This is something you can better understand with a completely free ‘Saboteur Discovery Session.’
If you or your teammates ‘spiral down’ a little bit too frequently, I’d love to help you set up a PRA group for your workplace, so get in touch with me!
Curious about which of your saboteurs is the loudest? Take this free short assessment that all of my Peak Resilience Accelerator clients use.
