Do you ever feel overwhelmed?
I am writing this post right in the middle of an assignment that has, well frankly, been a bit overwhelming. Oh it wasn’t the complexity of the work; it has been the amount of work involved. In this particular case I am working on a writing lab where I have to take multiple little quizzes between reading segments, then when I get done I post about what I’ve learned.
Oh sure, it’s not a big deal, neither is an ant, but when you get what seems like a few hundred of the little buggers the stress level rises.
So I’m reflecting over my mood and why I have this feeling and though I hate to admit it, I feel this way because I expected the assignment to be a quick one or two practice exams, not 23 or 24. So my expectations are what set me up for feeling overwhelmed. Frankly I cannot blame anyone but myself since I am the one who set my expectations thus.
So have you ever felt similarly overwhelmed by an assignment? Perhaps it was something you did not understand and you felt ill prepared or perhaps the complexity or scope of the assignment seemed out of your personal bounds? Have you ever stopped to consider the root of the feeling of being overwhelmed? Personally I believe the root of all feelings of being overwhelmed to be a subconscious expectation that has been shaken.
Is this a bad thing? Not really, because at least in my case, my expectations have been firmly put into check. Now I realize that it is impossible to live without expectations. For example if I eat I expect to eventually get full, if I turn my key in my ignition I expect my car to start, if I stick a fork in a light socket I expect to get shocked. Life teaches us expectations so telling someone “just go in expecting nothing” is nonsensical. For example I expect my instructor to speak to me in English, not Klingon (that mysterious Star Trek race of beings with the funny foreheads that sound like Germans).
So instead of dropping your expectations, next time you feel overwhelmed break the problem down to its root cause and maybe you won’t feel so bad. For instance I feel overwhelmed right now because I expected something different, so since my expectations were wrong, I’ll push on and try to leave my emotions out of it, either way the work needs to get done, how I feel about it at the time is entirely up to me.
Hope this helps.