OVERWHELM VERSES OVERAWED

How often do you say the word OVERWHELMED when things start getting a bit too much and your 'to do' list doesn't seem to get any shorter?

Increasingly used since the1980’s its quite reflective 'modern busyness’. However, when you read the dictionary definition, the cognitive processing visuals that come up are pretty alarming 😲

• To bury or drown beneath a huge mass of something
• Defeat completely
• To be too strong for; overpower

Given what we think on the inside, often reflects on how we show up on the outside, it probably isn’t conducive to helping us if we do feel in 'overwhelm'. Being mindful of what we think, and the actual words we use, has a direct effect to what physically manifests outside for us. Using negative, over-baring words will only increase the mood of 'overwhelm'. It was during a conversation with someone close that I became aware of how regularly I actually used this adjective. I felt uncomfortable that I was passing on my negativity to her, and at that moment I was presented with an alternative, OVERAWED. 
Initially I wasn’t even sure it was an actual word, but the dictionary says it is, and being slightly Dyslexic I was use to describing things in my own way 😁

So from thereon, when relevant, I consciously started to use the word OVERAWED, rather than overwhelmed.

To me OVERAWED has a completely different feeling about it. The Dictionary definition says:
• Impress (someone) so much that they are silent or inhibited

So next time you do feel under pressure, try using more positive descriptives like OVERAWED. It definitely has a more uplifting vibe which helps towards talking nicely to yourself all the time 😊

Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.

Name *

Email *

Comment *

---

Also in Tuesdays Tools