Feeling Overwhelmed? Here Are 6 Ways To Beat It…

Kent Murawski

Are you feeling overwhelmed right now? Change and transition are happening all around us. Wars and rumors of wars fill the air. Uncertainty about covid still looms around every corner. Anxiety seems to be at an all-time high. But beating the feeling of overwhelm is possible…

I define “overwhelm” as a physically and emotionally taxing season where you feel out of control…kind of like you are drowning. In the end, we don’t have much control anyway, except over ourselves and our own actions, but overwhelm feels like you have even less control than usual! It could be due to a difficult life transition, a crisis of some sort, relational tension, financial stress, job stress, sickness or a physical ailment, or some other difficult life circumstance.

I’m there right now. While I’m doing my best to be an attentive husband and an engaged father of three kids, including two teenagers (enough said), there is a lot happening. For instance, both my wife and I are in career transitions. She is finishing her certification as a doula and seeking to take on clients, and in addition to being a pastor, I am training for a new part-time job as a business consultant (which by the way I’m very excited about). I’m also continuing to write and pursue my coaching business. Add to the mix some other difficult life circumstances, and it feels very overwhelming.

The results of overwhelm can be varied: worry, anxiety, grief, despair, discouragement, or other negative emotions. First, understand, negative emotions aren’t necessarily bad. They actually tell us something is going on. It’s what we do with those emotions that matters, and we can either handle them in healthy beneficial ways or unhealthy damaging ways. 

What do you do when life feels overwhelming? Today, I want to share with you some practical and helpful ways to handle overwhelm. In the next post, I’ll share some of the unhelpful ways I’ve tried to deal with overwhelm so you can learn from my mistakes.

6 Ways to Beat the Feeling of Overwhelm

1. Get quiet

Tune out the noise. Take some time to be alone. Think. Reflect. Identify and process your feelings. Write and journal. When I’m feeling overwhelmed, it always helps me to clear my head and get some perspective. You may also want to consider finding a place that’s different from your normal environment. Whether that’s a walk, hike, retreat center, art museum, or a park you love, a change of place often leads to a change of perspective. In fact, I’m at St. Benedicts Abbey doing a day-long retreat as I write this! With all that’s going on, I just needed a change of pace without all the normal distractions of life. 

2. Be a lifelong learner

Life is a good teacher if we allow it to be. Put yourself in a posture of learning and ask, What can I learn from this experience? How is it going to make me a better person? Instead of trying to get out of it as soon as possible, lean in, sit in the pain rather than ignoring it. The best people I know have gone through hard things and come out as better people. 

3. Get raw, get real, get honest

Process your thoughts, out loud, with a few people you love and trust. It may be raw; it may get visceral, but we all need people we can be real with. People who will get in the pit with us. People who will be compassionate and empathetic. And people who won’t allow us to wallow in it the pain but help us climb out when it’s time. 

4. Release the pressure

Many of the homes in the Boston area have old steam-based heating systems with radiators. As the pressure builds, you can hear little wisps of steam coming from the pressure release valve. This is a good lesson. We all need to find productive ways to let off a little steam. Here are a few things that work for me:

  • Exercise. I do it 5-6 days a week, whether I feel like it or not. 
  • Plan something fun. Fun replenishes our emotional tank. 
  • Spend time with someone you enjoy. Life-giving relationships will help you feel seen and heard and walk away feeling encouraged. 

5. Rest

Overwhelm can take a lot out of us. It’s emotionally and physically taxing. Try to get as much physical rest as you can. Go to bed early. Sleep in if you can. Take a nap during the day. Have a clear daily stop time from your work and smartphone. Beyond physical rest, we all need a weekly day of rest. On this day, I cease my normal activities. I read, walk, enjoy good food, take time with my family, and do things that are life-giving and replenishing. Remember, we are human beings, not human doings. We were not meant to go non-stop. 

6. Go back to the source

I don’t know who or what your source of life or strength is, and I’m not going to push my beliefs on you. I will simply say that in tough times, in times of overwhelm, going back to your source is of utmost importance. 

For me, it’s my relationship with God. When hard things happen, I don’t typically blame Him or get angry with Him, though I have done that in the past. Some people scoff and say, “I’ve never been mad at God!” Good for you. That’s not my story. I’ve been mad at God plenty of times, and I’ve always known that God is big enough to handle my anger. 

And He hasn’t disowned me yet. 

Now, rather than get angry at Him, I turn to Him. I trust Him. I believe He is good – through and through. It may sound cliche, but I find Him to be especially near and present in difficult times. And for me this is a source of great strength and peace. 

What’s Your Plan?

Overwhelm can bring out the best and the worst in us. That’s why I advocate having an intentional plan for overwhelm. Or better yet, begin to implement some of these life rhythms  now. That way when overwhelm inevitably comes, and it will, you can tweak and adjust your rhythms rather than start from scratch in the middle of the problem or crisis. When we are not prepared for it, we can tend to default to negative ways of dealing with it.

What is one healthy way you could start dealing with overwhelm right now? What about sketching out a rough draft of your plan? Then talk it through with someone you trust. The same applies whether you already feel overwhelmed or you’re just being proactive.

In my next post, I will share some of the mistakes I’ve made through the years in dealing with overwhelm. 

What are some rhythms and practices you’ve used to combat overwhelm? Share in the comments…

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By Kent Murawski July 28, 2025
When was the last time you ended a summer feeling more energized than when it started? ​​Summer brings changes for many of us—minimizing our motivation to work, disrupting work routines, and altering schedules. With summertime often comes a desire to slow down, and yet, we're not always sure how to do that. This week is my last new post for a little while (though I may resend some popular posts from the 2024-2025 season). I’m pressing pause to create space and pour my energy into finishing my new book. But stay tuned—when I’m back in six weeks, the newsletter will be refreshed with some exciting updates you won’t want to miss! Read to the end to find out more. In this week's edition of Catalyst, I want to share 3 ideas to help you effectively navigate summer. 3 Ways to Master Summer Without Burning Out 1) Stop and Think (Reflect) Socrates famously said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." For Socrates, life was more than pursuing the things that most men occupy themselves with, things like wealth, household affairs, status and position, and political clubs and factions. He believed that life only has value and meaning when we question what we think and know, and by more deeply understanding ourselves and others. The beginning of summer is an ideal time for reflection, and we all tend to occupy ourselves with the things Socrates talked about more than we probably care to admit. Taking a reflection day at the end of each quarter (consider removing "or trimester" for conciseness) can be an effective way to navigate seasonal changes. Finding a place far enough removed from your normal day-to-day life will help you get into a different headspace. A friend of mine often says: Change of pace + change of place = change of perspective. I've used hotels, monasteries, or even a beautiful outdoor location if the weather permits. Here are a few questions you might want to ask: How am I feeling spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically? How are my closest relationships doing? Am I living out my core values? Is my life moving in a direction I feel good about? What do I need to change or adjust? Here are a few ideas for how to conduct a reflection day: Prayer, meditation, or silence Review your biggest wins and assess your goals from the previous quarter Work on high-impact projects that require focus Preview the upcoming quarter and set your Big 3 goals: personal, marriage/family, work/business 2) Cut the Non-Essentials (Reevaluate) Both my wife and I work, so when summer arrives, we need to re-evaluate our schedules to accommodate our twelve-year-old son. In the past, I've made the mistake of trying to keep the same workload despite being home with him two days a week. I ended up frustrated all summer long, living in the tension of wanting to spend more time with him while trying to carry the same workload. Summer requires me to pare down my work roles to the essentials: Writing (currently working on a new book) Executive coaching (6-8 coaching clients) Relationship building and outreach Necessary administration (keeping this to 30% or less of my responsibilities) Moving forward, I will probably keep things this way. It feels more sustainable than the unrealistic expectations I previously held myself to. Once you define your key roles and responsibilities, the question becomes how to achieve better work-life integration not work-life balance. I use the Big 3 System. Choose only three big things to focus on at one time—quarterly, weekly, and daily. That's right, just three. Those three things are usually a combination of personal, marriage/family, and work. Each quarter, I typically choose 1 personal goal, 1 marriage and family goal, and 1-3 work goals, depending on the quarter. Here are a few questions to consider. If you have a partner, discuss them together: How does your schedule change in the summer? What work-related responsibilities and expectations do you need to adjust? What are 3 things you want to do this summer? What do you NOT want to do? 3) Choose What Matters Most (Rest) Paring down expectations isn't only for work, it applies to rest, too. Because it's summer, there is the temptation to want to fit in everything (—vacation, visit family, trips, fun, etc). In the past, we would try to do so much that by the time fall rolled around, we were exhausted. Last year, out of necessity, we planned a staycation instead of going away. It was one of the best vacations we've had in a long time. And besides, summers in New England are gorgeous! We went to see a movie, ate out, went to Six Flags, had a beach day, and took days in between just to relax. We loved it so much, we're doing a staycation again this year! Write down your list of summer expectations and plans. Now, cross out everything that feels exhausting and unfun. Don't try to fit everything in this summer. Pick a couple of things that feel life-giving and focus on those. Your Move Reflect. Re-evaluate. Rest. Choose one of the three and work on it in the next 24 hours. Plan a day of reflection. Have a conversation with your spouse. Choose how you're going to rest this summer. I don't care which one it is, just take action. Here’s one question to consider: What would you stop doing this summer if no one was watching? Most people think summer is about maximizing experiences and fitting everything in, but the truth is that the most productive leaders use summer to strategically subtract, not add. They understand that rest isn't what you do after the work is done—it's what makes the work sustainable in the first place. You've got this.
By Kent Murawski July 23, 2025
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For Socrates, life was more than pursuing the things that most men occupy themselves with, things like wealth, household affairs, status and position, and political clubs and factions. He believed that life only has value and meaning when we question what we think and know, and by more deeply understanding ourselves and others. The beginning of summer is an ideal time for reflection, and we all tend to occupy ourselves with the things Socrates talked about more than we probably care to admit. Taking a reflection day at the end of each quarter (consider removing "or trimester" for conciseness) can be an effective way to navigate seasonal changes. Finding a place far enough removed from your normal day-to-day life will help you get into a different headspace. A friend of mine often says: Change of pace + change of place = change of perspective. I've used hotels, monasteries, or even a beautiful outdoor location if the weather permits. Here are a few questions you might want to ask: How am I feeling spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically? How are my closest relationships doing? Am I living out my core values? Is my life moving in a direction I feel good about? What do I need to change or adjust? Here are a few ideas for how to conduct a reflection day: Prayer, meditation, or silence Review your biggest wins and assess your goals from the previous quarter Work on high-impact projects that require focus Preview the upcoming quarter and set your Big 3 goals: personal, marriage/family, work/business 2) Cut the Non-Essentials (Reevaluate) Both my wife and I work, so when summer arrives, we need to re-evaluate our schedules to accommodate our twelve-year-old son. In the past, I've made the mistake of trying to keep the same workload despite being home with him two days a week. I ended up frustrated all summer long, living in the tension of wanting to spend more time with him while trying to carry the same workload. Summer requires me to pare down my work roles to the essentials: Writing (currently working on a new book) Executive coaching (6-8 coaching clients) Relationship building and outreach Necessary administration (keeping this to 30% or less of my responsibilities) Moving forward, I will probably keep things this way. It feels more sustainable than the unrealistic expectations I previously held myself to. Once you define your key roles and responsibilities, the question becomes how to achieve better work-life integration not work-life balance. I use the Big 3 System. Choose only three big things to focus on at one time—quarterly, weekly, and daily. That's right, just three. Those three things are usually a combination of personal, marriage/family, and work. Each quarter, I typically choose 1 personal goal, 1 marriage and family goal, and 1-3 work goals, depending on the quarter. Here are a few questions to consider. If you have a partner, discuss them together: How does your schedule change in the summer? What work-related responsibilities and expectations do you need to adjust? What are 3 things you want to do this summer? What do you NOT want to do? 3) Choose What Matters Most (Rest) Paring down expectations isn't only for work, it applies to rest, too. Because it's summer, there is the temptation to want to fit in everything (—vacation, visit family, trips, fun, etc). In the past, we would try to do so much that by the time fall rolled around, we were exhausted. Last year, out of necessity, we planned a staycation instead of going away. It was one of the best vacations we've had in a long time. And besides, summers in New England are gorgeous! We went to see a movie, ate out, went to Six Flags, had a beach day, and took days in between just to relax. We loved it so much, we're doing a staycation again this year! Write down your list of summer expectations and plans. Now, cross out everything that feels exhausting and unfun. Don't try to fit everything in this summer. Pick a couple of things that feel life-giving and focus on those. Your Move Reflect. Re-evaluate. Rest. Choose one of the three and work on it in the next 24 hours. Plan a day of reflection. Have a conversation with your spouse. Choose how you're going to rest this summer. I don't care which one it is, just take action. Here’s one question to consider: What would you stop doing this summer if no one was watching? Most people think summer is about maximizing experiences and fitting everything in, but the truth is that the most productive leaders use summer to strategically subtract, not add. They understand that rest isn't what you do after the work is done—it's what makes the work sustainable in the first place. You've got this.
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Failed dreams can become your greatest victories. While dreams are essential for hope and growth, unfulfilled dreams can breed disillusionment. Yet what appears to be a “failed” dream often reveals itself as an opportunity. Barbara Corcoran, the renowned Shark Tank Investor, once said, “All my best successes came on the heels of failure.” This wisdom […]
By Kent Murawski January 4, 2025
Did you know that 92% of people give up on their goals by January 12th? Pretty shocking, right? I used to be part of that statistic. Every year, I’d write down my goals with excitement, only to find them collecting dust by February. It was frustrating and, honestly, a bit embarrassing. But then I discovered […]