I have to do the same thing you’ve mentioned above every time I do some sort of research for getting my stuff out there and seeing all the wonderful, fantastic, highly motivated, and successful people who’ve gone on before me.

Sometimes I forget that we don’t have to be everything to all people, and I need to focus on the goals I set out for me, personally and not the goals, others have set out for themselves. Each person is different, each person’s idea of success is also different.

Stay true to yourself, that’s what I keep telling myself. :)

First of all, I’m so thrilled and touched that my Tough (Question) last Tuesday was a building block for you. You have no idea how exciting it was for me to read that. I’m so glad that it helped.

Second of all, I’m not going to give up on the whole Separated At Birth thing despite our age difference. I spent the whole session with my coach on Sunday talking about overwhelm, and this month I’m spending all of my non-installment posts speaking about time management, to do lists, etc – everything I do to keep my goals/projects/tasks in check. It’s a work in progress, and I can get so caught up in my To Do lists & what I “should” be doing that I don’t enjoy the ride.

So many of my tasks are seen as a means to an end. To take your example, it’s not enough for you to be a published writer (hello!), but you want the book at the top of the Amazon list. That’s not superficial at all! It’s a fantastic goal. What needs to be put into perspective – which is way easier said than done – is priorities. That’s a killer for me. I want to keep my day job, do lots of business building for my coaching, complete my coaching classes, and say “yes” to every invitation my friends & family throw at me – and that just kept me under water. Even though I want to do it all (and do it now!), I had to look in the mirror and figure out what was most important, and put the rest aside for that moment/hour/day/week/month.

Where would recognizing – and committing to – priorities fall for you? Right now it seems like you’re challenge is book PR vs school (vs wedding planning vs social life vs blogging?). What’s really your first priority? Your second? Your third? What has to be done so you can devote the “right” amount of time to your first priority?

This is the longest comment ever in the history of comments. I just love this topic & your take on it!

First HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY. I have something for you, but since we were snowed out today, you’ll have to wait till tomorrow! :)

Second, WOW, I can’t believe your book is on amazon, I’m going to go look it up right now! I’m so excited!

Finally, your post is so open and honest, very moving! I like how you’ve challenged the feelings of being overwhelmed, you did some difficulty, but excellent work there! You do have a lot going on, and I think acknowledging that, every day, could be helpful. When I’m overwhelmed, I try to do some very basic things, like wash my face (slowly and deliberately!), put on clean pajamas, have a cup of tea…things that I would normally do quickly or not at all when really overwhelmed…it’s how I trick my mind into thinking it’s calm. ;)