Feeling at Max Capacity? Here’s How to Recalibrate

Welcome to find you'd clarity. I'm your coach and your show host, Megan Johnston. For over a decade, I've helped women move from burnout, pressure and overthinking to clarity, confidence and ease. If you've been stuck in a cycle of self doubt or fear, this is your space to come back to you. Each episode will blend real life coaching, grounded tools and intuitive insight to help you trust yourself more, lead with your energy and take your next aligned step now. Now let's find your clarity and the life that's been waiting for you on the other side. Hello, beautiful soul. Welcome back to this show. Thanks for being here with me today. I'm so grateful for you. I'm so glad you're here. The energy has been something recently. I guess the closest I can relate it to is chaos, but it doesn't feel like it's a different flavor of chaos. I'm not sure if you've been feeling this, but I've personally been feeling it. I've been having a lot of conversations with clients recently who have been feeling almost like this sense of like it's just too much. Like we're, we're all feeling a little at capacity, but nothing has necessarily changed. At the same time, are you feeling that energy at all? Like, I'm in the same flow I've been in and at the same time it feels like my capacity is approaching its limits. And let me actually define that for a minute because that's something I feel like I've really learned to bring awareness to and notice over the last few years. My capacity being at max. I think maybe we more commonly say this as burnout or talk about it as burnout. Maybe you don't feel like you're at burnout, but maybe you feel like you're approaching burnout. So it feels like sometimes it might feel like you have like some unnamed emotions. Like for me, recently, I've just been waking up with this little ping of anxiety, specifically in my heart. Like, I can feel this little buzz. It's a familiar feeling. But in this season right now, it feels unnamed. Like I'm just, I find myself going, what are you doing here? So maybe it's anxiety for you. Maybe it's another feeling. Maybe there's like anger coming up and you're just like, why do I feel angry? Maybe there's a resentment coming up and you're like, what's up with that? So having this like unnamed emotion, I think notably like awake, almost like waking up with that sense. Or maybe that's not True. Maybe, maybe for some it does come, like more throughout the day kind of. You get into the day and then it arrives and you're like, well, what just happened? But just noticing if there's this like, like almost like unnamed emotion that you have, this sense of like, what are you doing here? Why. Why am I feeling like that? Why am I feeling like suddenly I want to cry or suddenly I want to scream, whatever it is for you. So maybe it's that. Maybe it feels like you just want to like, like I'm doing like the hand swipe. I don't know how to verbally explain that, but you're like, kind of that. Hands up. Like, I, I'm. I'm kind of just over it. And like, even the things that you love doing, you're like, like, it's just this feeling of like, meh. Because you're at capacity, maybe it feels like if one more thing happens, you're just gonna like, fall apart. So like, for me, yesterday I posted about this on, over on Instagram, I put my shorts on inside out and I was just like, of course it made me cry a little. But it wasn't about the shorts. It was about all of the things I was talking about before, these emotions that are coming up. And I, I know I'm not alone in this because I've had conversations with clients, I've had conversations with you all over on Instagram. There's this sense and I think, you know, there's a lot of reasons that could be we're coming out of a full moon, which generally has some intense emotion. I think there's been a lot of tragic things happening in the world around us. A lot of visuals of that too. I don't know how you have been holding yourself through that or taking care of yourself or if that's even affected you, but I personally have, like taken certain social media apps off of my phone and I've gone back to no scrolling through short form content because it wasn't nourishing my inner system, it was creating a lot of excess anxiety. Even if I was looking at short form content that I love, I mean, as the algorithms do, they sneak things in and that caused me to see things that I didn't want to see. And if you've been experiencing that too, I want you to know, like, it makes so much sense that you're feeling maybe really heavy emotions that you're not really understanding. You know, I've seen a lot of stuff recently that we are just not as humans, we're not designed to consume the way we're consuming. And I think that that's really true. And I think if maybe one thing you take from this and I want to share, I'm gonna like, maybe share a few tips and then we're gonna do a short practice to connect back to your own energy at the this episode today. But I want to share as I'm sharing tips. The goal of this episode isn't now go do all of these tips, check the list off. Maybe you don't do any of the tips because maybe the only thing you need is to give yourself space. I was just talking to a client recently about the concept of integration, and I've done a podcast episode on that before. I'll put the link in the show notes. But I think space integration, a pause, whatever you want to call it, is one of the most important pieces of coming back to yourself and creating more calm and more clarity in your life. And so maybe all you take out of this is to do nothing. Maybe you hear a tip that you're like, oh, that feels so supportive for my system. Great, you choose your own adventure in this episode. But back to consuming and not being designed to consume in the way we are. Maybe something you try. It's creation, I think that's often talked about as the opposite of consuming. Creation. Creation for just the sake of creation. Not creation for any purpose or I know a lot of business owners, entrepreneurs are in this space. So not creation for the sake of monetizing or scaling or anything else. Creation simply for the sake of creation. You know, I've been doing a lot of writing recently which has felt really, really good for me and my system. I also started doing punch needle, which is kind of like embroidery, but with yarn. And these are ways that I've just activated that creation again. So what's something you might try? What's something you need to step away from consuming? You know, I think there's also a big shift in AI and how we're using AI and conversations everywhere about that. I can't get away from it, even if I'm not intentionally entering into a conversation. There's an email in my inbox about AI or I don't know. I was on LinkedIn the other day and someone was posting about AI, and I think there's. We're processing a lot more than we think about that underneath the surface, what that means to have, you know, these new systems in place while also being human in this life. And I think even if we're not actively processing that with it, Being all around us, like maybe in your work, whether you're a business owner or you're in a career, you might hear chatter of what that's going to look like in your field. And I mean, now people are using it to like optimize their health and their self development. And gosh, I have so many thoughts on that that we won't go down that rabbit hole. It'll save it for another episode. I'm only saying we're processing that on top of everything else we're processing. I think there's been a lot of energetic themes recently. I think I mentioned earlier that, you know, we've just come out of this full moon, that first of all, it was literally in the sky, the brightest full moon I've ever seen in my entire life. And I just felt this sense of like, o, okay, get it. You're illuminating some things. Got it. We'll look, we'll pay attention. And I won't get into the energetics of this full moon, but it was supposed to be a really intense one. Something I started doing in my back to you monthly membership container is every week I've been sharing the collective human design theme just to bring in some considerations to bring in a lens to look at throughout the week to see if that theme feels supportive for whoever receives it. And we've had some intense ones recently. This week's theme, if you're listening to this in real time, is all about depth, the depth of your wisdom and the fear of not having enough to show up to be seen. Last week we had the inner critic. So we've had some intense themes. And there was one recently. Oh, we had a recent one. I think it was a few weeks ago. It was all about discernment in relationships. And a lot of the back to you members and I were talking about, like, that felt so intense. And I was seeing some really intense patterns and themes show up in relationships around me, in my personal life. So I think we've just had some really intense themes and patterns showing up in the collective, meaning it's something that we all relate to. If the idea of like this energetic theme feels a little like woo to you, I don't love the word woo, but I also haven't figured out what to replace it with. So if it feels like that to you, it's just that noticing of like, hey, I'm with you. I get that. And, and sometimes there's patterns that we can really name and go, oh, this comes from this. And sometimes I think there's patterns that are completely unexplained, that it's just like, why are we all experiencing this? And I don't know that we necessarily need to know why we're all experiencing it together, but I think there's a piece in knowing that that does happen. There's a piece in opening up a conversation of that's happening to you too. I even found that yesterday when I posted about crying about my inside out shorts. And. And people were sending me messages of like, little memes of just like, I'm feeling this too. I saw this meme recently. It made me laugh. There's just this connection point of like, okay, like this unnamed anxiety in my body, it's there and I feel so much less alone when we can have conversation about it. So maybe that's another thing for you to reflect on. Just like, am I pushing the beach ball underwater? This is something I talk to my clients about a lot with our emotions, when we have a big emotion, anger, resentment, anxiety. And when I say anxiety, I mean the momentary feeling of anxiety, not the ongoing anxiety as related to like a mental health overarching theme, but more of that moment to moment anxiety. So we talk about, are we pushing the beach ball underwater? So what happens when you push a beach ball underwater? Pushing it down, pushing it down, pushing it down. And it's going to want to keep popping up and if you let go, it's going to pop up really rapidly. So are you pushing the beach ball underwater? Are you opening up to conversation? And where do you feel safe to open up to conversation? If you don't know where to feel safe to open up to conversation, please know that my inbox is open. I would love to hear from you today. And you just say, hey, I have been feeling really heavy. I have been feeling like I can't name what's going on, but it's there. And I will simply be here to say, I hear you, I see you. There's no fixing needed. And I think if you take anything away from this podcast episode about this heaviness and the energy that's coming up, I want you to know that there's nothing to fix. There's nothing to fix. You are not a problem to be solved. There's nothing to fix. You don't need to rush to solutions. And sometimes simply going, this is weird. Why is this feeling here? And just going, okay, well, what does this feeling have to say? And hearing it out, sometimes that's enough. Sometimes that's enough for it to start to dissipate into something else. This is A practice I did yesterday with my. That unnamed emotion in my heart. I sat and I connected with that space in my body and I let it speak. And this is a practice I do in energy coaching space with my clients where you can have this somatic experience and really hear that emotion out instead of pushing the beach ball underwater. But you can also do this on your own. You don't even have to, eyes closed, connect with your body. You can just grab your journal. If this emotion had a voice, what would it say? And maybe you start with, I know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. And then maybe suddenly you go, oh, I know. And you start to write things that maybe don't even make sense, but they're there and they want to be heard. And then maybe just the act of that begins to shift something. Shift, meaning there's no solution. There's no. That sounds kind of, I don't know, doom and gloom. There's no solution. Maybe there is. Maybe for me, yesterday it was just like, oh, okay, I hear. Suddenly the flutter in my chest feels a little bit lighter and I'm starting to shift from anxiety to connection. I share outwardly on like a public platform. I realize not everyone does that. Maybe you find a women's circle or just a really good friend to share and maybe you just say, hey, I don't want any advice. I don't want anything to do with this. I do this with my husband all the time. I'll just say, you know, I'm not looking for any advice. I just want to share something feeling, and I just want to know that you hear me. Maybe that's enough being heard. Letting yourself be heard can be enough. So is there anything else before we do? Just a short little practice today. Take time to be with yourself. Know that you're not alone in all of this. Give it away to something greater too. Maybe you're mending your relationship with God. Maybe that word carries a lot for you. Maybe you connect more with the divine or universe, something greater than you. I find that just the act of walking outside and saying, I'm giving this away. I'm letting it go. And by when I say it, I'm actually naming it. So yesterday would be, I'm giving some of this anxiety away. It. For me, it felt a little more accessible to say some than all. But just the act of saying, I'm giving some of this away again, it's just giving it voice. It's Giving it space. And maybe if you're a visual person, maybe you even visualize, like the words floating out into the sky or into the earth, wherever you feel like it needs to go. But just that act again of giving it space and setting it free a little bit. Being in creation, taking time to evaluate. So if I am at max capacity, maybe some of this is the collective theme. Maybe some of this is something I cannot explain, but maybe some of it is very real, real and valid and asking me to pay attention. And what is the I'm telling myself that's not even letting me look? Here's some common stories that come up I most commonly hear. I can't possibly change my mind again. I've changed my time mind too many times. What, what are people going to think if I change my mind again? What does this mean about me? Maybe you're not asking it directly like that, but let's say that you settle into knowing that the job you're in isn't right for you anymore. And maybe there's a story that says, but we can't just keep changing jobs every two years. That's not what we're, quote, supposed to do. It's not going to look good on my resume. And so I'm not even going to let myself look at that. I'm just going to pretend everything's fine. Or maybe your business isn't working the way you need your business to work, aka, it's not bringing in the money that you need it to, but you're not even letting yourself look at that because, well, you just gotta fix it. And so you're just running, running, running, running yourself at max capacity, over max capacity, throwing spaghetti at the wall, trying to make anything happen. You're like, I can't even look at that because I'm afraid of what I'll have to do, what I'll have to change. So maybe some of it is just unexplained energy. But maybe you take a moment to go, what am I not looking at here? What is asking for my attention? And again, the knowing that there actually doesn't have to be a solution right now. I don't know about you, but that feels like such an exhale sometimes. There's a space for solution. And I think there's a difference between I'm going to let my comfort run this solution versus I'm going to stand in the knowing of, oh, it's not time yet. But I'm also going to hear it out of like, okay, I see. I'm. I'm walking towards the end of this pathway and I don't need to spin my wheels and stay stuck in the mud right here, but I'm walking towards the end. Okay, I'm not, I'm not really ready to change paths, but I'm aware, I'm aware that that's there. And maybe I don't do anything about it right now, but again, maybe I just hear it out. I think there's so much power in hearing out what is under the surface. Instead of trying to push it down, shove it down, rush past, be fine, be happy. Something I've been thinking about a lot recently is, you know, we talk about, I always say for celebrations, big or small, we celebrate them all. We don't need to only amplify the big celebrations. And I think we can do this in the reverse too. We give space for like, big grief or big loss. Sadness, anxiety, anger, frustration. That feels like it, quote, has a reason, has a purpose. But when it's small and it's little, we're like, I don't have time for that. I don't have time for that. That's silly. I don't even need, like, it's just gonna go away. And then it, when it doesn't and you reach max capacity, you're in that state of like, wait, well, what happened? And so give attention to the things that feel small. They're just as worthy as your attention. It doesn't have to be a big, huge emotion to talk about it. So with that, I hope you've taken away some tips and, and maybe heard the thing that you needed today. But let's just do a little practice together to just come back to you, come back to your body, hopefully create a little bit of peace. This is going to be an eyes open practice. Maybe you're walking or maybe you're driving. And I always remind people we can do energy work with our eyes open or closed. And I actually think the, the practice of doing energy work with our eyes open is quite important because it reminds us that we have access to a peace and a calm. When we're in the middle of something else, we can't always like, stop, close our eyes, meditate, but we can always access what we need to in our body. And so with your eyes open, taking a breath into your belly, feeling how much space your air fills up, and maybe on your exhale, maybe you just sigh, just let it out, just even feel how the release of a breath can feel so supportive and how you can do that anywhere, anytime, just a sigh A simple sigh. And maybe someone asks, why are you sighing? You say, oh, I just needed. I just needed a deep breath. As you stay connected with your breath, bring your awareness closer and closer to your heart. Get curious with how close to my heart can I get? How close to my heart can my awareness go? Maybe you give it a color, maybe it has a texture. Maybe it has just like a ripple effect where you're going in, in, in. And maybe now you place a hand on your heart. Maybe you gently tap, you feel your connection point, you feel the beat as you get closer and closer to your heart. Take a moment here to ask yourself, what do I need today? What do I need in this moment? Trusting and honoring whatever word comes up, whether that word is calm or space, or that word is purple or dolphin and you don't know what to do with it. Or maybe it's not a word for you. Maybe it's a feeling, a sensation that envelops you, getting closer and closer to your heart. You feel that with each step closer to your heart space, you feel a little more held, you feel a little more seen, you feel a little more heard, you feel a little more calm, you feel a little more in control. Because with all that's going on around you, even though so much is out of your control, you do have control of this inner state. Just feeling yourself settle, feeling the peace, taking anything you need here and connecting back to the awareness of your breath. Your breath and your heart hold you day in and day out without a second thought. They are symptoms of your aliveness. And as you connect to these rhythms of your life, your life force, energy. Exiting out of this practice with great gratitude. Maybe you feel a little different than when you began. Maybe you feel exactly the same. The invitation is to allow that. Allow yourself to be exactly as you are. May this practice carry you through whatever your day brings next. I'm sending you so much love, so much gratitude. Have a beautiful, magical rest of your day.