Overwhelm is a Lie

The feeling of overwhelm is real, but the premise behind it is a lie.

While large, challenging visions can inspire us, they can also lead to overwhelm. And feeling overwhelmed can rob us of the energy, creativity, and will to act.

Ultrarunning taught me to think differently about overwhelm.

The next step before us is almost never the problem

It's the weight of the whole thing, all at once, that feels overwhelming.

Training for and racing at the 100k race distance, I overcame overwhelm by focusing on only two things:

1. A sustainable effort (effort is different than pace)

2. The next step

The premise of overwhelm is the lie. We believe we can't sustain through the balance of what needs to be done. But both our perception of how difficult it is to move forward and our perception of the enormity of what remains are exaggerated.

Honesty as the antidote

Accepting a sustainable effort requires honesty. We don't lie to ourselves about our (limitless) potential; we often lie to ourselves about the effort we can sustain over the long run.

I remember distinctly during a training block for an ultramarathon, my coach gave me a workout: a 15-mile trail run with the first 7½ miles at a moderate pace and the second 7½ miles at a certain effort, not pace.

I launched into the second half faster than expected, feeling confident and resolute. Even though it was difficult, I focused on effort rather than an arbitrary pace that would induce more worry and stress. My brain reflexively fought back, trying to remind me how much further I had to go. But my response was clear: "Coach prescribed an 8/10 effort, and even if that means my pace slows as I progress, I know it will be sustainable for the next hour."

The ultrarunner's secret: sustainable effort

In ultrarunning, I found I could maintain a 8/10 effort for a couple of hours but a 6/10 effort for a very long time (12+ hours).

High-achievers in business often push to an unsustainable 8-9/10 effort. This is not only slower than a 6-7/10 effort in the long run, but the resultant skewed perspective is a major contributor to overwhelm.

Here's why: Overwhelm happens when we multiply real-time perceived effort across the distance remaining to our goal. Over-exertion exacerbates that perceived effort and makes overwhelm much more likely.

Deep into an ultramarathon, when a runner has pushed too hard for too long, they've not only depleted the glucose stores in their muscles but, more importantly, they've depleted their brain from the essential fuel required to make intelligent, frontal-lobe decisions.

In ultramarathon racing and in life, it's not whether things will go wrong—it's when and how often. The discipline, honesty, and self-love to operate at a sustained pace below peak performance is what allows us to encounter emergencies and unexpected setbacks with competence and a surge of energy, instead of breaking physically and emotionally when they present.

The three steps to overcoming overwhelm

1. Be honest with yourself and others about a sustainable effort Where I see this showing up more in my life is in the expectations I require of myself and my clients. I wasn't brave or honest enough in the past to talk about the high level of support I require from clients. Nor was I honest enough to admit that we won't be perfect and that we will regularly make small mistakes that won't be significant and should be tolerable in our business relationship.

2. Hold to that sustainable effort I've applied the 6/10 sustainable effort approach to calendar management, blocking out periods for reading and reflection in advance so my week doesn't get overfilled. I've adjusted settings in my appointment system, requiring at least a 30-minute buffer between meetings. I journal daily using a template that requires me to respond about my energy level and whether I managed it optimally.

3. Focus only on the next step, not the enormity of the distance remaining When we focus solely on taking the next right step at a sustainable effort, we liberate ourselves from the crushing weight of the entire journey. This isn't about lowering standards—it's about raising our chances of actually reaching the finish line.

The deeper truth: self-love as sustainable fuel

When external pressures start pushing me toward an unsustainable pace, I try to remember to show up with honesty. This is the most important element. It's sensing the physiological response our body has when we start pushing faster than we should or agreeing to things that will potentially compromise our ability to perform.

That's the signal we need to stop, reflect, and be honest, even if it means taking a few steps back.

I find the reason that's difficult in some cases is because performing for others meets my deep psychographic need to be "good enough." So in addition to honesty, a dose of self-love is helpful.

When we love ourselves enough to honor our limitations, we paradoxically expand our capacity to achieve. The most sustainable pace isn't the fastest one—it's the one we can maintain with joy for the longest time.

Questions for reflection

How have you avoided or overcome overwhelm?

How have you been honest with yourself and others about a sustainable pace?

What's one area where you could dial back from 8-9/10 to a more sustainable 6/10 this week?

Remember, true achievement isn't measured in bursts of intensity but in the consistency of showing up, step after step after step.