It's time to slow down.

"What?! Julie, I can't slow down! I have a career I'm running full force on, I have a family to take care of, I have big goals, I have so many things to keep in the air. I'm sure it would be nice to slow down, but that's just not possible for me."

Do you find yourself thinking that when you hear "slow down". I know that I have thought that. "Oh yeah sure it would be nice to slow down but I have a business to run and people that need me and a family to take care of, and a house, and, on and on.."

I get it, and still, hear me out.

You are running at full speed all. the. time. You feel burned out, exhausted, overwhelmed, chaotic, and if you're like me, you've even described it before as the "hot mess express".

You aren't getting as much sleep as you should.

You aren't eating the way you want. You aren't getting enough water in. You aren't taking care of your body in the way you want.

You aren't as present or as patient with your family as you want.

You might not even be showing up as creative or intentional at work as you want.

So you push harder. You run faster. You work longer. Because surely once you "catch up", you will be able to slow down again. And yet, that time never seems to come.

Am I striking a chord at all on any of these things?

If so, it's because I GET IT! I've been there, I still work on this everyday. I get it because I hear it from my clients all the time. As an Executive & High Performance Coach, I am working with leaders and high performers and their innate nature is usually to keep achieving; even at their own expense.

Feeling pulled in a million different directions. Feeling like you are never doing enough. Like if you can just push a little harder.

The thing is, we have it backwards.

When you are constantly operating under a stressed state, you are doing the opposite of what your body actually needs to achieve the results you are looking for.

From that stressed state, you are more likely to:

• Focus on problems instead of solutions
• Be triggered easier by things
• Feel at the affect of things
• Feel frustrated, angry, defeated
• Have tunnel vision and be less open to thinking creatively
• Be less efficient with your time and energy

You are actually pushing away all the things that you need in that moment. The tendency as high achievers is to keep pushing, forcing. When really what you need, is to slow down, get re-aligned, and get back into the flow.

The analogy we use in coaching when it comes to stress is to think of it like holding your hand over a hot burner. When you start to feel the heat, it's a cue, an indicator to you that something is off and that you need to "move your hand". The problem comes in when you keep holding your hand over the burner.

Think of stress like holding your hand over a hot burner.

The tendency for those in roles of leadership, business owners, or high-achievers, is keeping the hand over the burner for too long until the point of burn out.

When I'm working with clients who are at this place, it often looks like:

• Thoughts of "I just can't keep up" or "I just have so much always going on."
• Thoughts of "This is just how it is I guess."
• Feelings of defeat, overwhelm, feeling at the affect, frustration

It's really hard to see beyond these thoughts and feelings when you are deep in it. Which is where the power of coaching comes in as I'm here as an outside perspective to help point these things out to you, hold up a mirror for you, and help you to see beyond the tunnel vision you might be in and think of other possibilities.

Just because you are used to feeling this way and seeing others operate this way, doesn't mean you have to.

Insert a SLOW DOWN.

If you are constantly operating from a reaction and stressed state, you are eventually going to reach burn out and you also are NOT going to get your best results in life or in your leadership.

So what do I mean by a slow down. Let me give you an example with a personal story.

A few weeks ago I had yet another morning of waking up a little later than I wanted (from staying up a bit too late), not having enough time to finish my full morning routine and work out--ensue guilt.

It was time to get my son ready for school so as I'm running around the kitchen packing snacks and lunch, telling him to "hurry up so we aren't late!" while thinking of all the things I had to get done that day, and leaving a hurricane of a mess, (and my sanity), behind.

I quick got home and had to decide if I should get ready or eat breakfast, because I didn't have time to do both. As I was frantically trying to scramble my eggs, I paused and I said out loud "Slow Down!".

I thought to myself, "Julie, that is enough. Slow down." And I proceeded to literally slow my pace down. I slowed my thoughts down. I focused on what I was doing in that moment. On being present in that moment. Being intentional as I scrambled my eggs, as I sipped my coffee.

I instantly felt better. Calmer. More peaceful. I committed there to bring that feeling more often into my day.

When I do that, I am more present in my work. I'm more present with my family.

When you actually take the time to slow down, to pause, to reset, you allow yourself to lift out of the head-down and fog you've been running in, and see more clearly. You can see more solutions to things. You can ENJOY the place you are in, and the journey ahead.

We ALL have times that we are running at full throttle, but if that is you all-the-time, you are going to run out of fuel.

Slowing down does NOT make you any less valuable. It makes you MORE valuable.

If you're thinking "I can't take a step back or slow down, it won't look good." the reality is that as a leader, your team, your organization, your clients, whoever it is you work with, they actually need you to be able to step back and see things from a birds-eye view, instead of always on the ground.

You can only do that when you give yourself some space (and grace) to slow down, so that you can get perspective, and then actually be able to speed up.

You will be more in flow. You will work more efficiently. You will be more creative.

Here are some tips on slowing down:

• If you read all of this and are feeling like I'm in your head, that's a cue it's time to slow down.
• Start small. The next thing you do, be really present and intentional. Whether it's having your coffee, eating lunch, walking to a meeting..instead of thinking of what just happened, or all the things you have to do, try focusing on exactly what you are doing in that moment.
• Actually say to yourself "slow down" when you feel yourself rushing around.
• Set aside some think time. Try and block out some time on your calendar to have some think time and actually take a "macro" view of your work and life and where you need to make some adjustments.
• Consider working with a coach. If you are feeling like you are running full throttle and don't know how to manage it all, consider working with a coach to help you navigate and prioritize.

Remember, sometimes we need to slow down, to speed up.

To hear more, check out my recent Podcast Episode on this topic on the "It Starts With You" Podcast.

Check out all the episodes:

Ways to Work With Me:

I offer 1:1 Executive & High Performance Coaching to leaders and sessions for teams, as well as Keynote events.

Set up your Free Discovery call here, or message me to connect:

https://calendly.com/julie-599/discovery-call

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-Julie Menden is an Executive & High Performance Coach & Speaker who helps executives, teams, and business leaders reach their peak performance. She is a member of the Forbes Coaches Council, a contributing author in the book "Peak Performance: Mindset Tools For Leaders", and the host of the "It Starts With You" Podcast". 

#slowdown #leadership #highperformancecoach #presence