My coach (yes, I have my own coach) is a prolific writer and producer of content. I cannot believe how much helpful, valuable (not marketing fluff) content she cranks out. As a student in her mentorship, I get emails from her with links to newly produced content, announcements about upcoming free masterclasses she’s offering, etc. etc.

I am in awe — and also find it overwhelming. I thought she might want to know the impact it has on me, when I realized she would probably laugh very good-naturedly (yes, I made that up) and say, “You don’t have to read it, or even open it. It’s always your choice.”

I realized what my problem is: I have an "auto-response." Every time she sends an email, I think, “It’s probably something really good and I should read/do/participate in whatever she’s talking about. But I don’t have time for that!“ and I get overwhelmed.

The problem isn’t that she needs to create less content or send fewer emails. The problem isn’t that SHE is overwhelming ME.

The problem is that I interpret every email from her as a “should” or “have to” and I overwhelm myself by thinking I “have to” open it and do something. I’m afraid if I don’t do whatever she’s emailing about that I’ll be missing out, and even worse, find myself behind my peers (everyone else is making time for it, etc...).

The problem is in what I’m thinking, not in what she is doing.

Here’s why I’m telling you: We do this all the time. It’s how our brains evolved – to run on autopilot. But the autopilot messages running my decisions aren’t serving me; they are making me annoyed at my coach and feeling overwhelmed.

So if you want to know how to de-tangle your thoughts, I created this video, "How to Manage Your Thoughts."