3 Step Process for Overcoming Overwhelm and Taking Action with NLP

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with all of the things you could learn and all of the skills you could develop?  Paradoxically when this happens your desire to learn, practice & grow can actually push into a state of inaction. 

What can be done about this?

In this article I will share with you a simple 3 step process you can use to overcome the overwhelm and get yourself into action.  Not only will you be taking action but you’ll be on the pathway towards mastery and in a state of continual development!

When I first started learning NLP, Neuro-Semantics I saw all of the various models, skills, and patterns and to say the least I felt overwhelmed.  I really had a hard time deciding what to do and there were many times that overwhelm would lead me to freeze up and go periods of time without doing anything. 

Throughout that journey what I discovered was a simple process I used to cut through the mess and make sure I was taking little bits of progress in the right direction every single day.

Not only will this process help you on your journey to mastering NLP & coaching but you will be able to use this simple technique with any large skill or goal you want to develop or achieve.

Step number one of this process is to take the skill or goal that you want to accomplish and break it down into smaller pieces.  If it is a skill you’ll want to break it down into sub skills and if it’s a large goal you’ll want to break it down into action items.

In this first step the key is that if any sub skill or action item feels too overwhelming that will be your signal to break it down into smaller chunks.   At the end of this step you’ll have a list of skills and action items that you can do to make progress and that feel totally comfortable and manageable.

The second step will be to prioritize that list. Maybe you’ll push some items to the top of the list or put some to the side for later. As you do this you’ll want to notice which items on the list are important yet feel challenging as well as the items that seem simple, fun and energizing.  This step is simple enough yet very important to sort through the various items you have listed.

The third and final step of this process is to go through that list and to decide “What am I going to do today?”  

The way I decide starts with checking in with my mental-emotional state.

If on a particular day I am feeling energized and I have a lot of vitality I will go through that list and pick something that will be a high priority and potentially a little more challenging.

If on a particular day I am not feeling so great or have lower vitality I will go through the list and ask myself, “Which items on this list would either give me vitality and perhaps even be fun.

And if on a particular I don’t know how I feel or really am having a hard time deciding it really doesn’t matter, I just pick anything. You could throw a dart at the paper on the wall, close your eyes and put your finger on a random item, flip a coin, or whatever because it really doesn’t matter.  Just do anything.

One of the principles of innovation, skill development & goal achievement is that no matter what you take small incremental steps progressively in the right direction.  Taking meaningful and consistent action towards your big goals and skills is how you put yourself on the pathway to mastery and you are always one step away from stepping on the path.

What sub skill/action item will you be taking today? Leave your questions and comments here.