Go Ahead... Try to Overwhelm Me

Give it a try. Try and overwhelm me. There’s only one condition – you  need to overwhelm me with encouragement and affirmation. Encourage me and affirm me to the point that I can’t take it anymore, to where I beg you to stop and have mercy on me! Come on, give it a try.

Sounds crazy? Perhaps! What’s really crazy is the bad habits too many of us have learned to cling to like a lifeline when it comes to how we treat those closest to us.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by too much love, affirmation or good news?

The feeling of being “overwhelmed” is directly related to criticism, discouraging feedback and bad news.

Information comes in many forms. Many of the people who have succeeded in large organizations have done so due to their ability to comprehend valuable information. The problem is that the information that is deemed valuable is too often left brain dominant and excludes many elements of a healthy and complete human. We need to know that we are loved, cared for, and important. This is not optional. We need to hear, see and feel information about ourselves and those we come in contact with that our feelings and thoughts have value, and that we as a spouse, parent or co-worker are important. These skills have been viewed as “soft” skills by many in leadership positions and have been looked down on.

Take a moment to imagine a world without “softness, ” what would we have?

Answer: Hard, cold, lifeless living.

So…go ahead and overwhelm me with encouragement, or better yet, see if you can do it to those closest to you…your spouse, kids, and co-workers.