That’s too difficult, I have too much work, there are too many people in the room, I have too many ideas, it’s too good to be true, this is a project with too many issues, too many participants, today visited us too many customers …
Just starting the sentence with this “too”, tires us, lowers the energy level. It stops us, puts limits to our capacity, effort or even interest. We are just saying: I will not make it, I can not deal with all the work I have, I should not even try, nothing good will come out from trying, we are not able to respond to the current demand, people won’t be committed to the project… Are we facing actual limits or just excuses?
Next time you feel overwhelmed, replace too much, too many… by a lot of, enough not get bored, … because our language reflects and shapes the way we see the world, the way we act and react.
De-escalate, adjust expectations, reshape the size of the problem, of the fear into workable pieces. After completing each of these new smaller milestones, you will see it wasn’t that hard, it wasn’t such a big deal, … reshape the way you face challenges, it is easier to find a suitable solution and helps to climb higher without even notice. Try it and move.