The Complexity of Feeling Overwhelmed
Life, Learning, and Taco Bell
Greetings and welcome to another week of the best newsletter to be described as both messy AND fabulous.
I’m writing to you today from sunny Buffalo, New York. I would like to start off by informing you that I took another walk this morning and my coffee tasted just fine.
This week I have two short essays for you and a handful of new designs. As I continue to write this newsletter on a more consistent basis, its intention and vision are beginning to take shape. I write short essays on personal development, life, creativity, and philosophy. I share the early workings of these essays along with any other tidbits of information on my creative journey that I think you might find useful. Through this structure, I’m forced to publish my writings on a weekly basis which gives me some creative accountability. In turn, you guys (hopefully) learn something new in a creative and empathetic way, all from the comfort of your e-mail inbox. Everybody wins!
This week I wrote about being overwhelmed (and loving it) and efficient learning. If either of these essays resonates with you, why not send it to a friend? Maybe they’ll think you’re cool!
There’s a hell of a lot of different ways to feel overwhelmed in life. I’m becoming familiar with many of them.
At first glance, this statement may seem like something with a bit of a negative connotation around it.
“What’s going on with Ben? Stress? Anxiety? Pressure?” “Did he finally realize it’s not healthy to eat Taco Bell that many times a week?”
I started writing this piece feeling a little bit of all those things (and between you and me, I had full intention of using this newsletter to bitch about it). The thing is, the moment I started complaining, I couldn’t help but realize all the different ways that I felt overwhelmed...But in a “not bad” way.
When we hear the word “overwhelmed,” we tend to link it to feelings associated with something like an ever-growing to-do list or expectations that we’ll never meet. But these examples are just a fraction of what the word’s true potential holds.
Being overwhelmed has a positive side too.
We can feel overwhelmed by things like joy and fulfillment. We can feel engulfed by the richness and complexity of daily life. But the really crazy thing is that we can feel all these things, AND feel overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, and pressure AT THE SAME TIME.
We focus on the bad because it’s disheartening and it shows us what we don’t have. But so often we fail to see all the truly incredible things that we already DO have.
Not only that, but I’ve noticed that as feelings stack up in an unfavorable direction, there are a set of positive feelings that correlate alongside it. For every moment of stress we feel, there’s a correlating moment filled with joy.
A lot is going on in my life right now. I tend to bite off more than I can chew and I feel the effects of that on a day to day basis. It’s easy for me to focus only on the rapidly approaching deadlines, pangs of guilt, and one too many Cheesy Gordita Crunches. But with every spout of negative overwhelming energy, I believe there is a silver lining. A way life is telling me that I have all that I need and more… I just have to acknowledge it.
Consistency is Key. Intentionality is Necessary. And Fun is the Secret.
There I sat. Stuck at my computer, studying for an exam I was not all interested in taking. Distracted by the significant amount of other things in the world I would rather be doing - wanting to build, be creative, and just go to bed. I was lost in an overly optimistic mentality that time invested in a subject would produce results, but I've come to the conclusion that learning is slightly more complex. There are a few very important tools I’ve found that MUST be taken into consideration in any type of developmental journey.
Consistency
Intentionality
Fun
Consistency - You have to show up every day if you want to reap the benefits. In this way, I hadn’t been wishful thinking at all. Whether it's through getting lucky and winning the lottery (you'll never win if you don't buy a ticket) or simply reaping the benefits of compound interest, your chances of success double just through participation. The key difference is that this is just the first step...
Intentionality - Showing up to lectures and doom scrolling Facebook will get you nowhere. No information is learned and I guarantee you there are plenty of other things that you would rather be doing with your time. You have to set guidelines for how you block out your time. Doing school efficiently for a half hour and then taking an hour-long break sounds a lot better than half-assing school and doom scrolling for an hour and a half. Plan out time to doom scroll so you can get your updates on your mom's weird cousin's opinion on Trump (we all need that sh*t). But there’s more to this than merely time management. The broader you allow the subject of your time to be, the broader the range of subjects your mind wanders to. The more you allow your mind to wander, the less effective you will be at achieving your goal.
Fun - You have to be able to see the benefits if you're going to learn. I realized that in the moments I get truly bogged down by my schoolwork, I think I am learning simply just to pass a test or achieve the bare minimum. If I view the less exciting information that I learn as a useful tool of thought to better understand subjects that I am actually interested in, all of a sudden school doesn't seem so bad. It's important to find a way to find the fun in your situation...If not, you're just going to fall into the trap of hating it.
Any one of these components has it’s faults and I’ve fallen victim to placing too much value on them **individually** a countless number of times. But when paired together, they increase the effectiveness of learning in the classroom, work, and in the realm of personal interest.
I also have a handful of new designs to show you guys. Designing these has been my procrastination method of choice over the past few weeks and while I’m having a blast making them, I’m also astounded at how much visual design can aid the clarity and direction of my thoughts. Nothing to brag about right now but expect a lot more design work from me in the future!
Also had a little collab action this week with Jamie Russo on Twitter.
I truly had a blast throwing together this week’s letter. I feel like the vision and direction is starting to take shape but I also know I still haven’t a clue what I’m doing. If you enjoyed something or thought anything could have been done better I encourage you to let me know. I’m learning how to do this as I go so any type of feedback is always appreciated.
As always,
Have a great week.
So which one is the weird cousin? I have many.
Nice