Work Online From Home: Overcoming "Overwhelm"

One of the most common challenges for a new online marketer making his or her way up the Internet Learning Curve, is the really uncomfortable feeling of OVERWHELM! It's not just that there is a LOT of information (which there is); it's that the "hugeness" of it can trigger emotional responses and fears from deep within. When deeply rooted fears start taking control over what we think and do, the result can be either a kind of "paralysis," or simply turning and "running for our lives."

So...what's up with that?

You see, the more unfamiliar--or unknown--something is to us, the more uncomfortable we feel. Our instincts tell us to "avoid pain" and "increase pleasure." The unknown heightens a fear that we may lose control over pain and pleasure. But we also want to be reasonable and "make sense" of what is going on--that is another way of feeling in control. We get tangled up in these competing desires and fears. In short, we aren't sure what to "do" to regain control and not knowing produces a feeling of OVERWHELM.

When we are uncomfortable in the extreme, we are likely to have one of three responses: an urge to flee; a surge to fight back; or feeling pulled in those two directions, we may just get immobilized and "shut down." Is this crazy or silly? Not really; it's just human.

Here's the thing: as human beings, we actually have "three brains" nested together inside our heads--not just one. They work together, but sometimes they (like siblings in a small space)...compete. (Stick with me and this will all make sense in a moment.)

The "hind" brain (right at the base of the brain stem, not far from that place at the back of your neck where you can feel the edge of your skull) controls all of our "involuntary" body functions and systems (heart beat, breathing, digestion, sweating, etc) and runs on automatic pilot; we have no way to change the settings on that brain by thinking about it.

"Nested" on top of that is the "mid" brain; pretty much the same kind of brain that non-human animals have, and more like the one that our pre-historic ancestors would have had. It controls our most basic emotional responses (fear, pain, desire, pleasure, etc...) as well as the physical urges that go along with those things. This part of our brain alerts us to danger and controls the release of things like adrenalin and endorphins when an extreme situation calls for an extra "shot" of something to get us through alive. Think of it as the "survival" brain.

The frontal, or modern, brain (the big part that actually fills up most of your head) is the one that allows humans to reflect and think things through, make choices, decisions, be creative, enjoy humor, etc. Because we have this "third" brain--the one that sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom-- we can talk ourselves out of or through the kinds of emotional (fear and danger-driven) responses that are still going to rise up from the mid brain. In short, we can learn and grow from our experiences, in ways that non-human animals cannot.

It is important to feel, and to sense real danger--of course. If we didn't have that primitive mid brain doing its thing in there, we wouldn't know enough to duck a blow, keeps our hands out of fire, and stop walking when we get to the edge of the cliff.

"Okaaaaay. If you say so, Thia.... And what, exactly, does this have to do with feeling overwhelmed as a new Internet marketer?"

Well let's face it: the Internet--from the vantage point of an Internet Newbie learning how to use it for marketing--is about as unfamiliar an environment as many of us are likely to enter in our lifetimes. The mid brain triggers the "fight or flight" response to the threat of the unknown. But the thinking, reflecting, frontal brain chimes in and tries to override the "irrationality" of the mid brain by keeping The Newbie from doing anything totally over the top and idiotic--like fight or flight.

The result of these two brains, each trying to "win" is that you just sort of get stuck in place, going, "OMG!" In other words, you feel overwhelmed, and are not sure what to do about it. Part of you wants to quit trying (flight) and part of you wants to tackle it and win (fight).

At the end of the day you really just want to stop feeling uncomfortable and regain a sense of control.

The best way to overcome overwhelm is to keep pushing through it. And the best way to do that is to make sure you have good support and good tools for learning how to survive--and then THRIVE--in your new environment.

It really doesn't take as long as we think it will, to go from experiencing something as unknown and unfamiliar to known and familiar. Strangeness fades away quickly once we start recognizing where we are, what tools we have available, and how to use them to achieve our goals.

Hang in there. Don't quit. I have a lot more to share and am here to be part of your support system as you scale the Internet Learning Curve.

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