S2:E11 How to Move Through Overwhelm One Step at a Time

Overwhelmed? Find Your Next Step

Host Laura Mangum Broome welcomes listeners to the Flourishing After Adversity podcast and offers a free guide, “Reframe the Spiral,” for shifting negative thoughts. She explains how overwhelm makes everything feel urgent, fuels racing thoughts and tension, and can cause people to freeze, especially during adversity such as grief, illness, heartbreak, or major change. She recommends asking one focusing question—“What’s the next step?”—to move from fear into action, emphasizing that first steps can be practical or emotional. 

Laura shares three strategies: shrink the moment by identifying what matters now, focus on what you can control using two columns, and let small wins count to rebuild momentum and confidence. She provides reflection questions and a weekly challenge to choose one heavy area, define one first action, and plan when, support, and obstacles.

00:00 When Life Feels Too Much
00:20 Welcome and Free Resource
01:04 Why Overwhelm Freezes You
01:36 Ask What’s Next
02:38 Practical vs Emotional First Steps
03:09 Three Steps to Move Forward
03:13 Step One Shrink the Moment
03:37 Step Two Control What You Can
04:13 Step Three Count Small Wins
04:47 Reflection Questions to Reset
05:16 Weekly Challenge Plan It
05:41 Recap and Encouragement
06:21 Closing and Call to Action

• Free Resource: Reframe the Spiral: 5 Quick Coping Strategies to Shift Negative Thoughts and Reclaim Your Day: https://www.icope2hope.com/reframe
• iCope2Hope 3-Step Resilience Framework: https://bit.ly/FrameworkRoadmap
• Website: iCope2Hope: From Hardship to Hope: https://www.icope2hope.com
• Move Beyond Adversity Blog: https://www.icope2hope.com/blog
• Free Newsletter: Wednesday’s Resilient Recharge: https://www.icope2hope.com/newsletter

Schedule a free 15-minute Clarity Call with Laura: https://bit.ly/15mincallLM

Transcript

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When Life Feels Too Much

 Have you ever looked at something on your plate and thought, I can't do all this?  Maybe it's grief. Maybe it's a diagnosis. Maybe it's a hard decision, a full calendar or a season that feels heavier than you expected.  Today's episode is for you.

Welcome and Free Resource

Welcome to the Flourishing After Adversity podcast. I'm your host, Laura Mangum Broome. If you've been knocked down by life, grief, illness loss, or unexpected change, you're in the right place. Here we turn setbacks into stepping stones because healing, growth, and joy are not out of reach.  

Before we begin, if you ever feel caught in loops of worry, self-doubt, or mental exhaustion, I created a free resource for you called Reframe the Spiral. Five Quick Coping Strategies to Shift Negative Thoughts and Reclaim Your Day. These are the same strategies I use when I feel overwhelmed with life. You'll find the link in the show notes. 

Why Overwhelm Freezes You

Why does Overwhelm shut us down?  Overwhelm has a way of making everything feel urgent at once. Your mind starts racing, your body tenses up. Even simple decisions can feel harder than they should. When that happens, many of us start repeating the same phrase. This is overwhelming.

And to be fair, sometimes it is.  But when we stay there, we often freeze. We stare at the whole mountain instead of looking for the next foothold. 

Ask What’s Next

That's why one question can be so powerful. What's the next step? Not the full plan, not the perfect answer. Not how to fix everything by the end of the week.

Just the first step.  That question narrows your focus. It gives your brain one job. And when your brain has one clear job, it becomes easier to move from fear into action. 

If you've lived through adversity, you know overwhelm is not just about a busy schedule. Sometimes overwhelm  comes from caring too much emotionally. It can come from grief, health challenges, heartbreak, uncertainty, or trying to rebuild after life changed in ways you never would've chosen.  In hard seasons, I've learned that trying to solve everything at once only adds pressure.   But asking what's the first step creates a pause. It helps you separate the whole story from the next right move.

Practical vs Emotional First Steps

Sometimes the first step is practical. Make the phone call, write down the question, ask for help. Drink water, step outside, rest before deciding. 

Sometimes the first step is emotional. Admit this is hard. Stop pretending you're fine. Name what you're afraid of. Allow yourself to begin small. The first step is not always dramatic, but it is often what gets you unstuck. 

Three Steps to Move Forward

I want to share three ways to help you move through overwhelm.

Step One Shrink the Moment

Step one: Shrink the moment. When everything feels big, make the moment smaller.

Ask yourself, what needs my attention first? What can wait? What is one thing I can do in the next 10 minutes?  You do not need to carry the whole week in one moment.  You only need to decide what matters now. 

Step Two Control What You Can

Step two.  Focus on what is in your control. Overwhelm often grows when you mix together things you can influence and things you can't.  Take a piece of paper and make two columns.  On the left column, write "What I can control."  Then on the right column,  write down "What I can't control."  Then choose one thing from the first column, "What I can control."  That one choice may seem small, but small choices rebuild momentum. 

Step Three Count Small Wins

Step three: Let small wins count.  A lot of people dismiss small steps because they don't feel impressive,  but small wins matter. They remind you that progress is still happening. They build confidence. They help you trust yourself again. A small win might be sending the email, making the appointment, getting out of bed, taking a walk, finishing one task, asking one honest question. Do not underestimate what one completed step can do for your mindset.


Reflection Questions to Reset

If you're feeling overwhelmed right now, pause and reflect on these questions.  What am I telling myself about this situation? Is it true?  What small part of this actually needs my attention today?  What is the first tiny step I can take in the next 24 hours?  Then make that step clear and doable. Not ideal, not impressive, just doable. 

Weekly Challenge Plan It

Here's your challenge for the week, choose one area of your life that feels heavy right now. At the top of the page, write what's the first step.   Then answer it with one action only.  After that, ask, when will I do it? What support do I need?  What might get in the way?  This is how you turn insight into action. 


Recap and Encouragement

Let's recap what we talked about today. Why overwhelm can shut down, clear thinking, how one question can help you refocus. Why small steps matter more than perfect plans. How to find your first step and act on it.   If life feels heavy right now, you do not have to solve everything today.  You do not need a full roadmap before you begin.  You just need to identify one clear next step, start there, then take the next small step. When you're ready, you're right where you need to be. Growth happens one step at a time. 

Closing and Call to Action

Thank you for listening to the Flourishing After Adversity podcast. If this episode encouraged you, please share it with a friend, leave a review or connect with me at iCope2Hope.com. 

And don't forget to download your free guide, reframe the spiral, five quick coping strategies to shift negative thoughts and reclaim your day. The link is in the show notes. Until next time, remember. Adversity can make you bitter or better, choose better. You've got this.