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Welcome to Insights and Implications!
Hello Everyone,
If this is your first time receiving our newseltter, welcome! Sent just once per month, each contains a short, practical story that illustrates insight principles. We hope these newsletters help to keep your learning fresh and insights flowing.
This month’s newsletter features a topic that might be familiar to many of you- feeling burdened by a huge workload. We hope it helps bring perspective and clarity.
All the best as we close out April,
All of us at Insight Principles
Overwhelm- Optional?
Miriam sat back at her desk and sighed. “This is crazy,” she thought. “I’ll never get it all done.”
Over the past year, Miriam’s team had been asked to do more and more with fewer resources and increased constraints. With a major deadline looming, Miriam had a to-do list a mile long, countless unread emails, a calendar full of meetings, and 2 direct reports who were in danger of burning out. She’d been spending more and more time at work lately, and could feel the effects at home. As she contemplated the impossibility of meeting her deadline and what it would mean for her career if her team missed it, a familiar frantic feeling welled in her chest.
The feeling tipped her off. Miriam remembered her insight principles program and realized that her rushed and overwhelmed feelings were coming from her thinking, not the massive amount of work she was tasked with. Yes, she had a lot to get done. Yes, there were constraints. Yes, her team was overburdened. But suddenly, it seemed clear that panicking and feeling frantic was not going to help her get everything done.
Instead, for the first time, Miriam got curious. “I wonder if there’s something I could do differently to help me be more productive?” From this place of balance, Miriam had a few insights. She shifted her priorities and saw how her directs could simplify their efforts and get some rest. Immediately, she felt freer. She realized that although she had work to do, it wasn’t necessary to feel burdened by it. The burdened feeling was optional.
Instead of staying in a frantic state of mind, Miriam’s insight about the true nature of her experience and where it was coming from caused her spirits to rise. In turn, her mind cleared, and she saw creative ways to help her team.
Miriam’s understanding of insight principles did not make the work go away, nor did it diminish the importance of getting the job done and helping her team meet its deadline. However, Miriam’s insight allowed her mind to clear, and approach the situation with more creativity, productivity, and understanding. The overwhelm was optional.
-Nikki Platte
©Insight Principles, Inc.