Are you an Overfunctioner? Are you the one people call when something needs to get done? Do you have superpowers that allow you to be in 10 places at once? Are you holding your own hopes and dreams, those of your significant other, sibling, child, best friend, etc all at the same time? Does your brain bounce around to 25 different people when you read something new?
While exciting, this is also EXHAUSTING. My coach recently called me out on this “ability” of mine. As we went deeper on it, I realized how many of my friends and colleagues around me are similarly talented – and burnt out. I’ve decided to go deep on this topic, and I can’t wait to share it with you! Today is Part 1 of a new series on Overfunctioning.
To start, I’ve written a letter to that Overfunctioner inside of me in an effort to let her know she is loved and seen. I encourage you to read this to yourself and see what comes up for you today.
To my dearest overfunctioning self,
You are enough.
You are enough.
You are enough.
You don’t have to jump up every time the damn phone beeps, dings and rings. That email can wait until tomorrow, or the next day, or next week. Every opportunity to volunteer, participate, lead, or help was not meant for you. Yes you CAN do it, but it doesn’t mean you are MEANT to do it. You actually keep others from being able to contribute when you step in and “go big” every. single. time.
Good leaders create more leaders, and that means you get to follow sometimes. Isn’t that a relief down deep, when you let it sink in?
So for today, take an extra minute to really sit with the opportunities that come to you and ask “is this meant for me?” If it is, by all means go for it, but if you have the thought “I should,” “it’s my responsibility,” or the most dangerous “It will be less work if I do it” – stop. drop. and sit (instead of the old stop drop and roll :)).
In fact, any answer other than “yes, that sounds like fun” is a call to go a little deeper.
I know you mean well. I know your heart is in the right place. But I also know that overfunctioning is a coping mechanism. It’s a way to feel worthy when down deep you feel less than. It’s a way to feel control when everything around you seems out of control. Worst of all, it prevents you from having the deep fulfilling relationships that your heart so desires.
You are enough. There is nothing you need to do to earn that statement. It’s inherent in who you are, just because you are you.
For our heart’s sake, go there with me today. I promise it will reveal something important and may even unlock energetic blocks you didn’t realize were there.
All my love,
Your inner wisdom
(This is Part 1 of my series on Overfunctioning. If this letter resonates with you today, please send it to someone who needs it. As a recovering overfunctioner, I need to read this letter to myself often…sometimes multiple times a day. It’s changing my life! Click here for Part 2…)