A lot of people feel overwhelmed on a daily basis because there is so much to do, and if you don't know where to begin or how to get started, it can cause you to not complete most tasks or goals. We also have many things that seem urgent but often are not actually important, such as alerts and notifications on our phones.

This creates a sense of lack of power, a lack of personal power. And most people don't have much personal power to begin with, which also creates a sense of being overwhelmed. A vicious cycle continues, leading to depression, possible substance abuse, feelings of low self-worth, self-resentment, and also resentment of people in our lives, including our loved ones.

There is a way out of this. There are ways to build your personal power, and build your skill set to help you manage your life. You can feel more in control, and better prepared to handle your life.

A very helpful method is to write to-do lists, and check them off as you do them. This activates the reward center in your brain which leads to a sense of accomplishment. And having the visual proof that you are accomplishing tasks or goals, no matter how small, builds your self-confidence and makes you feel more in control.

I would advise to keep a day planner and write down the tasks you complete, so you can look through it at the end of each week or month, or whenever you feel overwhelmed. Seeing the actual proof of your accomplishments, no matter how small, will train your mind to become more focused on accomplishing what you set out to do. This is an important step in becoming a self-actualized human, ready for further advancement.

Some people find it very helpful to go over everything they need to do for the day, at the end of the previous day, to prepare for the next day. Take your day planner (or word doc on your computer, but day planners are generally best because they can be easily accessed and viewed after). Write down what you need to do the next day: any tasks, chores, or errands. Tell yourself that you will do what you can. It is important to be realistic, don’t make a list too long or you will only set yourself up for failure. Start small, and build your way up once you have established a solid foundation. Then, they next day, when you complete each task, mark it off and tell yourself it’s completed. This will motivate you to complete more, because it does create a dopamine rush in the brain and you’ll want to accomplish another to feel good again.

Strive to complete tasks, and then set some goals for yourself, easy and realistic goals. And when you complete one, congratulate yourself. Make it clear to yourself that you accomplished it, write about it in your journal, spend some time thinking about it and feeling great, perhaps reward yourself in some way. And then set another goal.

Break things into small, easy to manage steps. Don’t look solely at the end result that you want, because this is overwhelming, especially when you are new to the concept of accomplishment and success. Break it down, write it out, make the steps manageable and in order. Then, work to finish the first step. Complete it, congratulate yourself, and start on the next step.

It’s just like learning music. If you pick up an instrument and wiggle your fingers around, you’ll quickly realize that you know nothing (unless you are a prodigy). And you might feel completely lost and overwhelmed. Learning melodies will appear to be a daunting task. You might see someone play an instrument and think you can do that easily, and then you try, and you realize that without proper training and practice, you actually can’t do it. (It’s the same with real-life goals, people think they can do something that other people did, but then they realize along the way that it’s harder than it seems, and they lose hope and give up because they don’t know where to start or how to do it.)

But then you break it down. First you learn notes C and D and go over practice exercises with just those 2 notes. Then, when you have become comfortable with those, you add E, and go over practice exercises with just those 3. You gradually learn all of them and build real experience with the full scale, and then you can learn more complex melodies. You can’t go straight into a complicated masterpiece right away, you need to learn the basics and build your foundation first. But you will gradually get there, especially because you will see how exciting it becomes as you gain the experience and see real progress beginning to form, and you will become enthusiastic and motivated to continue.

Tell yourself that by doing each step one at a time (sometimes 2 steps happen simultaneously), you will eventually, sooner or later, complete them all. That’s all there is to it. When you do the work, it gets done. Therefore, your goals will be accomplished, once you complete each step. If you break them down and persevere, you can’t fail.

And always be aware that life throws curve balls. Something can definitely come up that will thwart your goal. Don’t be discouraged! Know that these things happen, so develop the mindset of learning to adapt and learn further. When unexpected things happen, quite often it’s because we need to learn a bit more, or perhaps adjust our goals a bit, or adjust our method. This actually works out in our favor too, just look at all the success stories of people who had unexpected obstacles arise, only for them to beat the obstacle and come out even better than they would have otherwise.

Another tip: Use magick and intention to complete the goals you set for yourself. After raising your energy (yoga, pranayama, etc), focus on your goal, visualize it, and affirm that you are successfully achieving it in beneficial ways for you. Sun squares can be done to gain personal power, or just working on your Solar and Base chakras. All chakras should be clean and empowered, but these 2 in particular will help you feel more secure and in charge of your life.

Another tip is to remove stressful distractions. You don’t need to watch the news all the time and be exposed to chaos and horrors all over the world, this creates a feeling of being out of control. Focus on what you can change in your life, on what you need to do for yourself (and any dependents you have). Globalism actually has the effect of making people feel overwhelmed from being overly-informed on too many events and situations that don’t even relate to our lives. Yes, people die all the time. This is terrible. But was it someone you knew? No? Then focus on your own life. If you want to help the world, do the God Rituals, and then turn your mind to your personal matters. Help the world, but don’t let yourself be too engrossed in all the chaos and horrors on a constant basis. There is only so much that we can do. Do what you can, and focus on improving what you can; don’t focus on what you have no control over. Do the God Rituals and have faith that you are helping.

Focus on completing your tasks and goals. This will give you a sense of power, because you are showing yourself that you have the power to take charge of your life. This will also build self-confidence and gives the peace of mind that comes from completing what you need to do in your life.

HPS Pythia once wrote: “Zeus never gives us more than we can handle.” If your life feels out of control, this is an opportunity for growth. Keep this in mind, and build this mindset. You can overcome, you can heal, you can become stronger, you can become a success and have that wonderful sense of accomplishment! And the sooner you begin now, the sooner you will have success. And this is something fun and deeply satisfying, and furthers the growth of your soul.

Just set goals, make steps, know that unexpected things will arise, adapt to them or overcome them, and keep persevering. You will win.

I wish you all great success in accomplishing your goals and taking charge of your life