Do you consider yourself an overgiver? I find that the majority of women we are great at overgiving and not so good at the receiving part.
Giving is ok, overgiving will lead you to burnout.
If you’d like to learn some tools on how to stop overgiving, keep on reading.
How much have you been overgiving this past week? Think about how much time you’ve given to family, friends, your kid’s school, volunteer time… How about money, did you lower your prices to get a new client? Did you give material things away? And if you did this all out of the kindness of your heart, great! If you felt a bit resentful in any moment I want you to pay attention because this could be a red flag that you might be headed into the burnout category.
How can we avoid overgiving?
Set clear boundaries. I want you to start thinking about what are your non-negotiables (example: no work on Fridays, no emails in the evening, no social media on the weekends, etc)
Learn to say NO NO is a full sentence and I want you to practice this more. Remember that every time you say no to something or someone you’re saying yes to something else, and vice versa. Practice saying no this week. Remember that you can do this in a kind way and you don’t need to give a full-blown explanation or excuse.
Regain your time Make a list of where your time is going on a daily basis. Once you’ve done a time audit, start eliminating those activities that are sucking your time. Learn to delegate those tasks –and yes, if you think you are the only one that can do that task or activity I encourage you to explore letting others do the activity that’s draining your time. An example would be hiring a cleaning lady. –I know you can do laundry, but do you want to or would you rather be at the park spending time with your kid? – If you feel that you “Can’t afford it” I invite you to get creative and ask yourself “How can I afford it” Maybe you could do a trade, or start with just a couple hours per month… Just experiment.
Manage your energy When it comes to giving, I know that you can feel energized by it, but if you go overboard and are always giving you will end up depleted. On top of that, you’ll be getting people accustomed to you always giving and they will keep coming to you for help. Practice giving less and instead giving more to yourself. This will energize you and fuel your tank. For example: giving yourself more time for sleep, or more massages, or more nature walks… whatever gives you energy.
If you’d like to learn more on how to increase your capacity to receive and stop overgiving click here to watch a short video on it.
Please share how you’ve been overgiving and where you plan to give less
To your success!
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