5 Ways Spiritual Overload Syndrome Sabotages Your Productivity

It’s a busy, busy, busy world out there. So many people I know, friends and clients alike, are feeling truly overwhelmed these days. The internet and our various battalion of electronic gadgets most of us use nowadays can bring an entire world of data, information and ideas to your fingertips within minutes.

Parents run their households and try to find their footing in a crazy mosaic of children’s schedules, community commitments, working their jobs and, oh yes, trying to make time for a personal life. Entrepreneurs who left the corporate world hoping greater flexibility and balance in life would be theirs are working harder than ever. Will there ever come a time when we can just chill out, put our feet up and relax?

We are hitting a point where our ability to keep our focus and stay productive is being seriously challenged. I call this challenge “Spiritual Overload Syndrome” or “SOS” for short. SOS is what happens when you’ve tapped into the flow of your brilliance and creativity, yet you struggle to be productive and focused in actually manifesting your Brilliant Idea in the real world. Imagine running 240 amp service through old knob and tube wiring – chances are something is going to burn out until we upgrade the circuitry of our productivity and work habits….

In the first of a two-part series, I want to share with you some of the common symptoms of this form of “dis-ease” that seems to afflict particularly those of us who have felt our intuition awaken and want to take action on our soul’s desires. See how many you can relate to:

Symptom #1 – You Have Creative Ideas But No Traction

Your Brilliant Ideas seem to always pile up on your “to do” list. You feel really, really busy, but not necessarily productive or making the best use of your time and energy. In order to have any chance of winning the race, you need to cross the finish line. Yet a lot of your Brilliant Ideas seem to end up collecting dust or get forgotten. You find it hard to see through an idea from the beginning right through to the implementation and completion stage.

Symptom #2 – Your Ego Has Become Your Taskmaster

You find yourself working longer and harder than you ever have. In fact, the thought of leaving the blackberry or laptop turned off for even a day makes your palms sweaty. Although you may love what you do, you’re starting to become a workaholic. Somewhere along the line, your ego has slipped in and become your taskmaster, leaving you feeling burned out and starting to resent the very activities you love the most.

Symptom #3 – You Have Indigestion

Like someone who’s visited an all-you-can-eat buffet, you’ve loaded up your plate with more information, seminars, books and workshops than you can really handle. You eat too much, too fast, and you end up with indigestion. You find yourself so busy learning or distracted by the next bright shiny object, you forget to allow time and space for you to fully digest and apply all the wisdom you already do have.

Symptom #4 – You Indulge in Magical Thinking

Sometimes people get very caught up in positive thinking and about principles like the Law of Attraction. They overlook the need to actually DO something in order to make it manifest. It can be tempting to get lost in pie in the sky thinking. This is particularly true when it comes to the kind of relationship we have with money (which in turn impacts how we price our products and services).

Symptom #5 – It’s Hard to Make a Decision

Your consciousness is waking up and you feel like you’re living from a place of abundance, not scarcity any more. Like a kid in a candy store, you are excited by all the possibilities you see. In fact, you see so darn many possibilities it’s a challenge to say “No!” or “Not now, later.” It’s challenging to discern where to put your time and energy. As a result, you’ve become somewhat indecisive because you hate to cut off your options.

So, how did you do? Have you been afflicted by Spiritual Overload Syndrome?