Most of us assume that pressure, circumstances and the sheer volume of modern life are what exhaust us. And of course life can be full. But there’s a difference between having a lot going on and living in a constant state of psychological noise.

One of the things we explored in the session was the role thought plays in creating our moment to moment experience and how easily we innocently get caught up in layers of mental processing without realising it.

Sometimes what drains us isn’t life itself so much as the amount of thinking we’re carrying about life.

And counter-intuitively, when we slow our thinking down, we get more bandwidth.

For all of you, especially if you are accounting for time in such a precise way, it looks like slowing down or 'investing' time is counter-productive, but the question really is how can you bring all your bandwidth to each task, so you are at your best in every scenario?

This distinction has become increasingly important in our work because people often treat these as the same thing when they’re not.

Sometimes we genuinely have too much on. More demands than hours. More responsibility than capacity. That’s overload.

But overwhelm is different. Overwhelm is what happens when a busy mind collides with those circumstances and loses perspective, clarity and access to our natural resilience.

Understanding the difference matters because they require very different responses. One may need practical change. The other may need less engagement with the storm of thinking we’re caught in.

And often, once people begin to see that distinction clearly, they find themselves navigating both life and leadership very differently.

The trick is to becoming more aware of when you are in a state of overwhelm, just noticing opens up the possibility to get some fresh thought or perspective and allow your state of mind to shift - which then helps you to prioritise, renegotiate deadlines, or get some help. 

Probably more than they expect.

Not because they become permanently calm or endlessly positive, but because they stop treating every feeling, every thought and every moment of uncertainty as a problem.

People often describe having more space. More perspective. Better conversations. More creativity. Less time stuck in loops. More agency over their state of mind.

And strangely, they often become more effective without working quite so hard at trying to manage themselves all the time.

The impact can look subtle from the outside at first, but profound from the inside.

So ask yourself - are you aware of when your thinking is helping you out, and when it's getting in the way?