You probably have times when hectic schedules and client interactions interfere with your productivity at work and leave you overwhelmed. Instead of allowing these challenges to defeat you, you can harness your inner strength to face them.
In addition to practicing a healthy, consistent self-care routine, try these effective ways to channel your inner strength when you feel overwhelmed.
Take a minute to meditate
As a massage therapist, you spend the majority of your time helping other people relax; your session room’s environment is great for massaging the body and mind—both your clients’ and your own.
Meditation involves a similar practice; it is a great way to clear your mind. While you may not have an hour to retreat from your busy work schedule, a few minutes of deep, intentional breathing, away from distractions in the quietness of the room you have prepared for your next client, will help alleviate stress.
Identify the source, then address the cause
Work stress can show up in many ways. Overcoming it with your inner strength begins with the process of identification. If you don’t know the root cause of the overwhelm, it will be harder to resolve it. For example, juggling clients, handling people’s personalities and maintaining demanding schedules are three major culprits behind work stress for massage therapists.
Once you identify and label your challenge, the next step is deciding how you will handle it. Brainstorm solutions to the problem causing your feeling of being overwhelmed. If, for example, you constantly find yourself running late, come up with ideas for providing yourself more breathing room between client appointments. If someone else handles your scheduling, you might explain the issue to that person and ask for her help.
Reminding yourself to be flexible during the day, delegating tasks to others when possible and setting priorities are all actions that can help you deal with challenges effectively, thus relieving stress.
When you’re overwhelmed, remember what you’ve overcome
You are a living, breathing person who has faced challenges in the past. The evidence you overcame those challenges exists—the fact that you are still here. The same inner strength you used to overcome tough times in the past can guide you now.
Think of and focus on specific times when you faced challenges and were able to move past them. Whatever you faced is behind you and you managed to survive—so remind yourself that you can survive this challenge, too.
Give yourself permission to handle obstacles
You may want to deny there is a problem; you may feel that admitting you are overwhelmed will cause people to think less of you, or believe you can’t handle your daily workload. Instead of pretending nothing is wrong, celebrate your successes, affirm the strength you know is inside you and allow yourself to face obstacles head-on, brainstorm solutions and even ask for help.
Ultimately, harnessing your inner strength is mindset work. If you’re already feeling overwhelmed, don’t overload yourself with more responsibilities. Embrace the challenge as an opportunity, don’t give up, actively manage your time, seek help when needed and reward yourself for every completed task, no matter how small.
About the Author
Lesly Devereaux, J.D., D.Min., is an author, minister, wellness coach and speaker who specializes in enhancing resilience by training people to meet professional and personal goals despite obstacles. She is the author of Breaking Codependency: How to Navigate the Traps That Sabotage Your Life and On This Day Remember, What God Does Not Want You to Forget.