Hello, and welcome to the Choosing Happy Podcast.

It's Wednesday.

Real stories, and I need to share something uncomfortably honest with you today.

This morning I got up early.

I was planning to launch seven, yes, seven major initiatives simultaneously, and I was calling it ambition, inspiration, but really it was self sabotage dressed up as productivity.

I. I'm juggling lots of stuff already, and creating this would have been madness.

And have you ever wondered if your overwhelm isn't actually about having too much to do, but about being afraid of what might happen if you focused on just one thing and actually succeeded?

I have learned over the last year about the power of one.

And yet I find myself every now and again trying to tripping up and still resisting it.

So stay tuned for more real, powerful moments in today's Choosing Happy Podcast.

So let me take you back to this morning.

I was buzzing with plans.

Today is like a day off for me.

And sometimes when I let go of everything that I should be doing, plans just come into my head.

I wanted to do 100 interviews in 100 days as part of 100 Days of Happy.

I wanted to create a new program for 100 days of happy.

I wanted daily minisodes, creative writing, content, getting spiritual, publicly reaching out to big names, the whole lot.

I had this huge idea of how I was going to finish the year off strong.

And I could feel that familiar energy, that scattered excitement of having a million balls in the air and loads of different tasks to do that would inspire me and get me meeting new people.

And then someone asked me the question that stopped me dead.

Are you asking too much of yourself?

And the honest answer hit me like a brick.

Yes, but not in the way that you might think.

See, I've done this before.

Many times, I pile on project after project, initiative after initiative, until I'm drowning.

And then when nothing gets the attention it deserves, when I'm exhausted and nothing quite works out, I get to say, well, I tried everything.

I'm just too busy.

If only I had more time.

But here's the uncomfortable truth I had to face today.

What if I'm not overwhelmed by accident?

What if I'm overwhelmed by design?

This morning, someone pointed out that my core expertise, AI for transformational practitioners, is brilliant.

It's unique.

It's needed.

It's needed now.

But instead of doubling down on that one thing, I was diluting it with creative writing tips and daily minisodes and spiritual content.

Why?

Because deep down, I don't trust that I can succeed at just one thing.

Because if that one thing fails, what else is there?

Because if I focus everything on my AI work and it doesn't work out, then what?

There's nowhere to hide.

No excuse, no.

But I was doing 700 other things.

The scattering isn't productivity.

It's protection.

It's a way to ensure that I never have to find out if I'm actually good enough.

And as you know, Monday's podcast was all about enough.

So here's what I learned in this brutal moment of honesty this morning.

First of all, the pattern recognition.

And I've covered pattern recognition many times on this podcast.

But overwhelm often isn't about poor time management.

It's about fear of management.

It's about piling on more because we're terrified of putting all our eggs in one basket and discovering the basket has holes.

Or even better, that the basket is successful.

The self sabotage cycle.

By trying to do everything, I guarantee that nothing gets done brilliantly.

There's no follow through, no completion.

Which means I never have to face the vulnerability of truly succeeding or failing at something that matters.

And the trust issue?

This isn't really about time or capacity.

It's about whether I trust myself enough to go all in on something I actually care about.

Whether I believe I'm enough to succeed at the things that feel most important.

Because sometimes when something's important to us, we feel too fearful to give it our all.

Because what if it doesn't work and it's that important?

So I'm asking myself, and maybe you need to ask yourself too.

What am I avoiding by staying so busy?

What would I focus on if I trusted myself completely?

What's the one thing I'm scared to put all my energy into because it actually matters?

And I know the answer to that question for me.

So this week, try this.

Look at your overwhelming to do list and ask, what am I protecting myself from by spreading myself so thin?

Then choose one thing, the thing that scares you the most because it matters the most.

And give it the focus it deserves.

Not as one item among many others, but as the thing.

The one thing.

The power of one.

The overwhelm might be keeping you safe, but it's also keeping you small.

And if there's anything I've learned this week is it's time to get out of my comfort zone.

So if this hits home, I'd love to hear from you.

What's the one thing you're avoiding by staying up overwhelmingly busy?

Share it with me at heather@heathervmasters.com or on social at choosing HappyPodcast.

Sometimes naming the pattern is the first step to breaking it.

And remember, you don't need seven backup plans if you trust yourself with the first one.

Time to get uncomfortable.

Time to focus.

Time to find out what happens when we stop protecting ourselves from our own potential.

Speak soon.

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to this week's episode.

If you enjoyed it or think it would be valuable to others, please do share.

And if you really enjoyed it, please leave me a review.

It really helps the podcast.

All of the links are in the show notes and I look forward to seeing you next week on the Choosing Happy Podcast.