How to feel inadequate and overwhelmed all the time

I’ve got some great advice for you today, to help you feel inadequate, overwhelmed, and stressed. You ready?

If you want to feel uptight and unsettled as often as possible, it’s pretty simple to achieve. Here’s what you need to do: (ladies and gentlemen, drumroll please…!)

Rush around and try to be God.

Wait, what? What are you even talking about?

You know, rush around and try to be God.

Make really long, unrealistic lists of all the things you want to get done.
All the things other people are doing.
All the things anyone says you should be doing.
Say yes to everything. (Do NOT take time to consider what you might be saying NO to, when you say yes to something else. You’re way too busy for that kind of nonsense.)
If you’re not completely exhausted, obviously you aren’t doing enough. Keep as busy as possible. Fill any empty space with whatever you can because you’ve gotta maximize every second.
Add more to that list. Always more.

Then…Do, do do. Do as much as you possibly can. Worry about everything you didn't get done. Bemoan your lack of self discipline for not being able to cram more into a 24 hour period.

Rinse and repeat daily, and…voila! You will get to feel inadequate, overwhelmed, and worn out from dawn to dusk.
(If we were having this conversation in person, here’s where I would burst into singing: “What can I say except you’re welcome…!”).

So that’s the rushing around part.

But for maximum feelings of complete and total inadequacy, don't leave out the second half:

Try to be God.

Try as hard as you can to never make mistakes—because if you mess up, that means you would need a Savior. Avoid this at all costs! Save yourself!
Also, make sure that nothing hard or bad happens to you or anyone you love. Fixate on preventing any injury, any loss, any tragedy, of any kind. If anything like that were to occur, you would only be able to get through it if you had the help of a divine being who has the power to heal, forgive, cleanse, strengthen, purify, and sanctify.
YOU better save everyone from pain by preventing anything bad from happening in the first place.

Control as much as you possibly can. Control the universe. You’re totally powerful enough to do that. This will keep people safe.
Spend as much energy as you can trying to change the way other people think and feel and act.


Are you completely overwhelmed yet?!?

I want you to know you don’t have to live like this.
You don’t actually have to cross all of those things—any of those things—off of your to-do list in order to be happy.
You don't have to get the people around you to change in order to claim your own joy.

I used to think that I experienced feelings of inadequacy because I wasn’t doing enough.
And I used to try to solve for that by doing more.

It doesn’t work.

Because the truth is that I feel inadequate when I’m trying to do too MUCH.
Trying to measure up to unnecessary, unrealistic and impossible standards.
Trying to control what I’m not powerful enough to control.
Trying to prevent what I’m not powerful enough to prevent.
Trying to change other people’s hearts.
In short, trying to be God.

So, my friend, here is what I want to offer to you:

Stop trying to “do” your way out of feeling inadequate. Doing more doesn't solve the problem.

When I notice that I feel inadequate, I look to the emotion as a signal—a clue that I’ve gotten off track in my thinking.

I ask myself: What am I attempting to do, that I’m not actually powerful enough to do?

I STOP doing, and I ask God to speak to me.

I listen.

And I usually hear something like this:

“My child, be still.
Be still and know that I am God.
I don't need you to be God, because I am.
I don't need you to avoid making mistakes—I can heal you and lift you and help you.
I don’t need you to save your children from sin— Jesus took care of that on the cross.
I don't need you to change other people’s hearts—That is MY specialty.
Be still and know that I am God.
You be you.
I’ll be God.
And by the way, I love you.”

Would you like to have a few coaching sessions to help you shift your thinking about inadequacy and overwhelm?

I’d love to help you gain fresh insights on this so you can feel more joy.

I’m Emily Ricks. I help people transform their thinking so they can feel more joy. As a Certified Professional Life Coach, I work with women who want to reduce feelings of stress, guilt, inadequacy, worry, and overwhelm. I help them separate facts from feelings, examine the underlying beliefs that are causing emotional distress, and see their lives through the lens of God’s Word, so they can fill their homes with joy.