How do you gently release pressure so your life doesn't explode?

There are days, weeks, months sometimes when everything in my life seems to be moving, shifting, changing... just when I think I'm at capacity, I'm challenged with something new.

No matter where you are stuck or overwhelmed, how does remembering to turn towards things you know and trust when you are about to explode support your optimal health?

Lives full to bursting can look like different things to different people.

An important work initiative hits a roadblock and needs a complete re-haul.

And then a key employee takes another position and your largest stakeholder is grumbling...

The grant application is due tomorrow night at midnight and there are still major questions that need to be answered by people other than you.

And then a nagging health issue turns into an "urgency" and requires your full attention and an evening in the ER.

When you get home, you can smell the tell-tale whiff of mold and realize the basement has flooded.... but clean-up is interrupted by a call from school stating that your child is in the principal's office for the third time this school year and OMG we are only three weeks in!

Meanwhile, there are no groceries and even putting a list together feels overwhelming.

Whoa... slow down, I can feel the explosion about to happen.

Imminent "explosion" can feel like a migraine, like forgetting obvious details, like snapping at coworkers, like picking fights with your spouse, like losing all creativity, like running the third red light of the day, like not being able to sleep.

What to do when you are full to bursting?

When I am about to explode I remember that I can turn to things I know and trust as grounding agents in my life. For me, it's consciously returning to my 7:00 a.m. outdoor run (even if I walk the whole way), then getting my tail directly onto my meditation cushion (even if it's for 5 minutes), and putting everything in my head down on paper (or entering them as tasks on my google calendar).

Ah... that feels a little better already.

Then I am better able to remember my other tools - pulling apart complex issues into steps, laddering up to key people for support, reaching out to committed friends.

And now that feels even more manageable.... I can do this. One baby step at a time.

I am most comfortable when my life is filled almost to capacity so that, like a balloon, I can float freely... high above the trees, dipping into the park, and then up again away from the curious nipping of the neighbor's dog.

But occasionally feeling that I am going to explode is an unavoidable part of living a whole-hearted, full life. And, I can choose, with self-awareness, to turn back to those things that ground me so that I don't burst. That is up to me.

Ladder up to me if you're about to explode - together we can identify what feels grounding to you and establish a pathway for you to gently let some of the air out of your over-full balloon. Turning towards optimal health is a choice, one you can make for yourself.