The Overcommitment Trap: How to Reset and Navigate Life with Intention

🚨 Feeling overwhelmed by your own to-do list? 🚨

You start the day strong—morning routine, maybe a workout—but by midday, you're reacting instead of leading your day with intention. Why? Because we answer to three brains:
🧠 Logic (Head)
❤️ Emotions (Heart)
🔥 Instinct (Gut)

When they’re not in sync, we overcommit, lose focus, and feel drained.

That’s why you need an Emergency Reset Plan—your parachute when life feels like free fall. 🎯

You don’t have to be ruled by chaos. Take back control with intention, wisdom, and faith.

🔖 Save this for later!
💬 What’s one thing you can reset today? Let me know!

Transcript

0:59

welcome to another extraordinary week. I'm your host, Julie Reynolds, and I'm a nurse coach, founder of the Yes Society and host of this podcast. I am so glad that you're here. And if you're here, it's. because you're leaning into personal growth and overall wellbeing, most likely you're a high performer. And so I want to speak to those things that we do to really to be on that path of personal improvement. If you've ever had one of those days where you just start out strong. You probably have a morning routine and that is on point. Coffee brews just right. You take that time to do some stretching. Maybe you do some supplementation, maybe even a quick workout only to have, and you're feeling strong moving into the day after your perfectly orchestrated morning routine and only to have all of that spiral. I know that I have and just a couple weeks ago, I had a full plan for the day and then I got sucked into on my own accord. unpacking the Super Bowl halftime show and what it meant and all of the symbolism in that and in the artist. So I went down a rabbit hole. Now I chose to do that and I was really almost like couldn't let it go. and then scrolling through political headlines and then all of a sudden you feel too drained to focus on what actually mattered. The thing that you set your intention on. It doesn't have to be even scrolling or what's going on in current events. For some of you, it might be something that comes up in your, with a friend or family, or maybe you're just fatigued that day and you get watching a movie and then next thing you know, two hours, three hours, four hours go by and you didn't do the thing that you were supposed to do. If that sounds familiar, then this is for you because we set intentions and then life happens. Emails pile up and unexpected conversations pull us in. And by the end time, the evening rolls around, we're wiped out. Uh, maybe we feel like we're running on autopilot reacting instead of living intentionally, like we really set out to. So we can have those habits in place for a powerful morning routine, maybe even a bedtime routine. Maybe we're journaling and working. We've got all the pieces and then in between maybe having established a rhythm or a flow that keeps us moving forward. So so why do we fall into this cycle? of over commitment. First of all, there's that myth of that morning routine mastery. We think that having a strong morning locks in the whole day, but without checkpoints, the afternoon can still unravel. I have built in a couple of those checkpoints that actually my phone notifies me at certain points of the day and reminds me of my life mission, reminds me that I want to how I want to show up. So that is a way to put those checkpoints in there to get yourself back on track. Another thing that comes up is cognitive overload, too much information from the breaking news, which is intentional to keep us distracted and keep us busy and keep us confused. The breaking news on social media, hot takes that come up sometimes in your comments, on your own feed, uh, They just wear us down and make us reactive and we have to guard our hearts against that. So emotional hijacking, a heated group chat, a colleague venting, maybe a guilt driven favor that pulls us in before we even realize it. These are things that we need to be aware of. So another thing is the gut instinct that goes rogue. So that spontaneous yes to a last minute commitment that might feel right in the moment, but then adds to your overwhelm. that lack of midday checkpoint. Without a pause to recalibrate, we a lot of times will drift out into survival mode, running on fumes. And then by the evening, we are, we're wondering what, what happened to this day. I want to highlight some science behind our three brains. And I was having a chat with a friend over coffee this week, and she mentioned how she felt, felt the gut is really the first brain because it influences everything else. and I'm not sure that she's not wrong about that, So when we set out about our days and we make choices to engage or not engage, we sometimes can think we're being very rational, but the truth is that we're constantly balancing. three different forces that we need to be aware of. And that's first the brain. our heads. this is the place the mechanisms that handle logic and analysis. But when we're overwhelmed, it will default to habits, good or bad. for us to gravitate towards in those times of overwhelm, then there's the heart and that governs emotions and relationships. It leads us to say yes to things that drain us, If we're not careful, and then there's the gut, and that's more, a more intuitive response system that warns us when something is off, without reflection. And if we don't acknowledge it and we don't give it the attention that it really deserves, it can also lead us, it can lead us astray. So mastering our days means learning to balance all three of those things. So how do we do that? Well, we, I'm going to suggest that we design ourselves an emergency reset we're going to think of this, like pulling a parachute when you realize that you're in a free fall instead of panicking, you can. Take control of your descent and that is I'm doing that for myself So that when I'm scrolling or even when people comment on a maybe something that I and it's a trick little triggering for me I can pull this parachute and reset myself before I engage so that I decide how much energy and If I'm going to give it energy, because some of the things that they don't really deserve our energy or don't require our energy. So first pausing and taking a deep breath, that deep breath will activate that clarity mode. Instead of the stress mode, it'll allow us to tap into all three brains and just check ourselves. Are we feeling tense? And where is that in our bodies? Is our brain logically telling us that we should not engage? And. But is our heart pulling us to something that, that is something triggering some, um, a passion area or something that we care deeply about, but we can, uh, by being aware of that, we can make a decision for where we place our energy and how we will respond instead of how we will react. So assess the terrain. Are you acting out of habit, emotion? or impulse. Identify which brain is leading and then prioritizing and redirecting what actually matters right now. I've been reading the book of Philippians mostly just cause I was drawn there for, One of my favorite verses, uh, reminds me to think on things that are worth thinking about, and that is in Philippians, which led me to read, reading the whole book, If you're wanting to look that up, it's Philippians 4. 8. And that says that whatever's true, noble, right, pure, lovely, focus on those things. And so I was really trying to apply that. In fact, I have 4. 8 in one of my, uh, one of my reminders is that I can just take a deep breath and that reminds me of where I want to place my focus, or apply this filter to my thoughts and then that midday recalibration. So just like pilots adjust their course mid flight, check in with yourself. Midday, a five minute reset can prevent an afternoon slump. It might mean getting up and going for a walk, doing a breathing exercise. It might mean just checking yourself on, is your energy applied to what you set out to apply your energy to? Is it, is your energy applied to something that is really. In your lane. So land with purpose, then wrap up your day with reflection. Did I honor my values today? What adjustments will I make for tomorrow? This is the way that we can, cause we're not going to execute this perfectly. We're going to have days that, uh, unexpected events come up and we react. Some of those things are personal and will require our energy and it is where we should show up. But having this intention allows us to show up in the way that we want to. Philippians also reminds us that do not be anxious for anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. So if you're a believer, this is a place where you can seek wisdom and seek truth. you probably know by now that you can't believe everything that you think and that your first reaction might not be the right one. And so we have to back up and meditate and to seek that wisdom for what it is that. deserves your energy. And is it, is there anxiety there that you can let go of? Another verse in Philippians says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. You are stronger than you think, and you have the power to speak life to situations and to Be an influence in the world Surrendering control isn't about giving up. It's about choosing where to place our focus and our energy. So there might be some things that We don't actually need to respond to even things that are said directly to us or about us. They can feel really personal, but do they deserve a response? Sometimes not. I had a situation this week at work where I was working in partnership with someone and another colleague told me something that this person that I was working with said, and it was very hurtful and unfounded. But at the moment, I took a deep breath and I considered where that energy was, and he really concluded that in that my logical brain, my heart brain, yes, I was hurt. I would have liked to prove myself by that. My intentions were not what she was saying, but then. As I applied logic and analyzed it a little bit more, I realized that there is no truth to what she said, and I do know that, and so I'm going to move forward knowing that that's her story, and if she wants to live in that energy, she can, but I'm not going to respond. That allowed me to then show up to honor her, continue to work and do the next right thing and, uh, without really unpacking or bringing some, bringing negative energy into the day. I was able to move through the day, high energy, uh, as a team player and do what, what honored the way that I wanted to show up. And it felt very personal at the time. But I chose not to give it energy and to leave it where it was. It's her story. And if she wants to manage it with me, she can, she could bring it up, but I was not going to give that energy. That's a way that is played out in my day. So some, there are some times when it feels very personal and you feel like you should defend yourself or you should set it straight. Sometimes it's not necessary. all of this is part of overcommitment, and sometimes that's not personal relationships or reacting to comments. sometimes it is just over committing to a story, over committing in reaction, to, our egos. A lot of times it's just as simple as that, overreacting to that overcommitment to setting things right. Sometimes it's helping other people. And, uh, we have to really ask ourselves, is that our place and is that necessary? And was that, is that our best, next best step? Overcommitment doesn't have to define our days. And by recognizing that, how our heart and gut and brain influences our choices, using that emergency reset when it's needed, and grounding ourselves in faith It's that that allows us to live with clarity and purpose. I believe in you and I believe that you are capable of more peace and more purpose and more intentionality than you realize. So let me ask you, what is the one thing that you can do this week to live with more clarity and manage all the things? as you step into each day to default to yes, remember this, you are extraordinary. and you're built for more than just keeping up. So, let's live with intention, one decision at a time. and if this is where you are, maybe you want to join the Yes Society. It's a group of people who are committed to this kind of living at least, take the next step and hit subscribe and get on the mailing list. So I can send these messages out to you with reminders during the week and how to apply it. I'm honored to be on this journey with you as you go out every day and default to yes, your extraordinary self.