“Ain’t it a little bit funny, what you think you need to live a life and succeed
You bring the kitchen sink on down the road, when all you really need is a lighter load” 

–“Lighten Your Load” song by the Okee Dokee Brothers

Do you feel like you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders?

You may be packing so much into your days that you feel weighed down and emotionally drained.

When your to do list is as long as your arm and you constantly feel overwhelmed because there’s so much to do, you end up paying the price by feeding your emotions.

And the more hectic your life gets the more tangled up you get with emotional eating and you end up carrying the weight on your hips as well as your shoulders ….

Now this is definitely not something you planned for!

I am a recovering load-carrier myself and this tendency will always be there, the difference these days is that I know HOW to lighten my load, pardon the pun.

Today , I would love to share some valuable lessons , that I learned along my journey, to help you understand what may be weighing you down and how you can lighten your load.

My guess is that many of you can relate to this but you would like to know a better way to take the weight of the world of your shoulders and your hips?

Let’s dive straight into the 5 Quick Ways to Lighten Your Load and Brighten your Life

1. Build awareness

Learn to read the signs of overload.

Here are some signs that indicate overload :

• Feeling Overwhelmed

• Feeling Irritable

• Feeling Resentful

If you feel like this then it’s definitely time to unload!

2.  Identify Your needs

Too many busy, smart women focus on achievement without fulfillment and the result is they pay the price with their emotions.

Know What You Want and WHY you want it…

Get clear on what you want from life (your ‘Why’), and work toward it. Everything else is not important and can be reduced or eliminated altogether.

“If in doubt, leave it out.”

3. Honour your needs by setting healthy boundaries

If you are saying, “Yes” to everything and everyone you may believe that you are achieving more, but the outcome is usually resentment.

Your resentment may come from the feeling of being taken advantage of and feeling that you are missing out.

If you are at the bottom of your priority list-it has a direct impact on your eating. If you are not fulfilling your needs and “feeding” your soul – you will end up feeding your cravings.

How to create boundaries around you:

The best way to set better your healthy boundaries is by practicing how to tell someone that they’ve crossed yours.

• Work out what you are comfortable with and what you are not comfortable with.

• When you have clarity on what is important to you then you can communicate it to others.

4. Learn the power of saying “NO”

It’s your time to question your “yeses” and reduce the obligations that you commit to so that you can “lighten your load”

When someone asks for your help or invites you to a social event, your tendency may be to say yes. But if you are always saying yes you could end up rushing around feeling overwhelmed and overloaded just trying to fit it all in.

Its ok to say “NO”.

Start practising saying “No”

• This takes time and practise and communicating clearly to others

• Rehearse saying no – it may feel uncomfortable at first but with practise you will get used to it

Here are some friendly but firm suggestions:

• I’d love to but I can’t…

• Thank you for asking, but NO…

• That doesn’t work for me at that time…

• I don’t want to disappoint you, but I have to say NO

“Remember when you say NO to someone –YOU ARE SAYING YES TO YOU!”

5. Simplify, simplify

“Our life is frittered away by detail.  Simplify, simplify.”
― Henry David Thoreau

Lay your burdens down. And rarely pick up new ones.

It’s easy to be busy, doing and creating, but identifying the purpose and value of your work will help you lighten YOUR load.

• Start by Identifying all the things that you don’t have to manage and do and

• Make a conscious decision to doing less and choosing what aligns with your life values

• Focus on outcomes rather than the processes, and you will become more efficient

One of my favourite questions to help you simplify is:

• “What is the one thing you can do such that by doing it, everything else will become easier or unnecessary?”

Do one thing at a time.

• Being productive doesn’t mean you have to multitask which often leads to a feeling of overwhelm.

• It means completing one task and getting it finished before starting the next one.

• Slow down simplify and you will get so much more done.

“When the weight of the world seems like too much, consider lightening your load”

On the path of life, most of us are lugging around too much weight. It’s like carrying a backpack full of items that you may need one day but don’t right now!

And your backpack may be full of commitments, long to do lists and too many “shoulds”, worries, and regrets.

Now I would love to hear from you..

• What’s weighing you down?

• Why?

Try and recall a time when you lightened your load by letting go of all the things that didn’t serve you in creating the life you crave for.

• How did that feel?

When you are ready to drop your “unnecessary load” the quality of your life will improve and you will start to feel lighter & brighter.

If you would like help & support with the steps required to brighten your life by taking the weight of the world of your shoulders (and your hips) to let’s talk.

Please contact me for a chat a 15-minute discussion.