Hi Brooke,

Since being in self-coaching scholars, I am much more aware of where my thinking is causing me problems. I wish I could say that I have a had a lot of success but I haven’t yet. It has surprised me how often you will say that you have a lot of clients who do something and it is true of me! I guess my problems are not unique to me. That has been very comforting in a way. I want to quit my job because it seems hard. But I have been in that situation before in a different job and quitting didn’t actually help because I brought all my thinking with me to this job. I get stuck in overwhelm, procrastination, confusion and negativity. I didn’t realize before this class that overwhelm was related to ones thoughts. It just seems true that I have too much to do. Except that I spend so much more time worrying about something not being correct that I don’t get things done. I panic and want to hide. Here’s an example about work. My thoughts seem to be true but as you have discussed on the negativity podcast, they are just one interpretation.

C: Supervising a production area where the work is moving over seas and the people are not.
T: Managing people is very stressful! I can’t get them to do everything I want without a lot of interaction. I look weak. I have too many other projects to do in addition to supervising.
F: Overwhelmed, panicked.
A: Procrastinating on some tasks, avoiding others, not asking the right people for help.
R: Stressed at work.

C: Supervising a production area where the work is moving.
T: My job is to enforce company policy. I don’t have to take everything personally. I can say No to some meeting requests.I can talk over some of my concerns with other supervisors to see if they have any suggestions.
F: More in control.
A: Lay out my plan for the day to be sure I get necessary work completed.
R: Less stressed.

The second model seems much better. However, today is Saturday and I am at home working on stuff I want to have complete for work. I am not at work in the midst of all the issues and requests. Is there a good way to keep some awareness of what I need to do when I have 4 people lined up talk to me from all areas of the company?

Thanks!