Overwhelmed? Find Peace Within & Calm Your Nervous System

Are you tired of tying your worth to your productivity? In this episode of the Core Happiness Podcast, we explore why productivity doesn't equal your purpose and how to reconnect with your core self for intentional growth and true fulfillment. Feel inspired as Kacee Banks shares practical tips to shift from overwhelm to peace, regulate your nervous system, and embrace realistic goals aligned with your values. Discover actionable strategies for mindful living, progress over perfection, and creating a life that feels authentically yours.

Stop chasing endless to-do lists and start asking what truly aligns with your soul. Learn how to identify habits that no longer serve you, embrace rest without guilt, and redefine success on your terms. It’s time to pause, reflect, and realign with purpose. Your value isn’t in what you do—it’s in who you are.

If you’re ready to reclaim your power and find calm within, this episode is for you! Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more empowering content. Share your thoughts below on the one habit you’ll replace to reconnect with your purpose. Let’s embrace #selfimprovement, #mindfulresolutions, and #overwhelmed #findpeace together! 🌟

#overcomingoverwhelm #selfimprovement #soulcare #soulcarepractices #timemanagement

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Intro

00:39 - Productivity vs Worth: Understanding Value

08:02 - Overwhelm: The Impact of Unprocessed Emotions

12:08 - Finding Safety in Overwhelm: Tips and Techniques

13:05 - Reclaiming Power: Creating Inner Calm

13:59 - Discovering Peace: Your Path to Tranquility

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (FREE):

- Core Happiness Website: www.corehappiness.com

- Core Happiness Meditations & Affirmations on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCq8USp4HgCQ_lMoiogO7tUw

FOLLOW US:

- Instagram: @CoreHappiness and @coachkacee

- Youtube: @CoreHappinessPodcast and @CoreHappiness ​

Episode Transcript

Camo Recording 2025-06-03 15-05-38 (00:00):
Okay.

(00:00):
You've been praised your whole lifefor being the responsible one, the
achiever, the go-getter, the strong one.
The one who never drops the ball.
And yes.
That may have gotten you success but italso taught you a very dangerous lie.
And that lie is that your valueonly exists in what you do.

(00:21):
That is not true.

CH Podcast Intro Video 4k (00:23):
Welcome to the Core Happiness Podcast.
I'm your host, Casey Banks, a mindsetand positive psychology coach.
On this podcast, we discuss allthings related to creating happiness
from within, so let's do it.

Camo Recording 2025-06-03 15-05-38: welcome back to the (00:36):
undefined
Core Happiness Podcast.
Tell me if this sounds familiar to you.
You check the boxes, you crush the list.
You are constantly getting things done.
You are on top of stuff, butstill you feel unfulfilled.
Does that sound familiar?
And why?
Why do we feel unfulfilled?

(00:59):
Because somewhere along the way you aretaught that productivity equals worth.
But here's the truth.
Being productive is not thesame as being purposeful.
And today I wanna talk about the realdifference between the two and why
it matters now more than ever, right?
You weren't born believing thatyour value came from output.

(01:23):
You.
We weren't born that way, butsomewhere along the way, usually in
our childhood, some, whether it wasa teacher or parent or neighbor,
babysitter, someone praised yourperformance, they ignored your presence.
And they gave you value andrecognition and accolades and thought

(01:46):
your accomplishments were basedon something that you do, right?
and so we started proving.
We started overachieving.
We started perfecting, producing,hoping that finally, eventually
it would feel like enough.
But instead of peace, all we feelis pressure instead of clarity,

(02:12):
we are constantly feeling likewe are confused, like we're lost.
And instead of fulfillment,we just feel tired.
Right?
We're fatigued.
So let me be honest with you,and I hope you hear me when I say
it's not that you're unmotivated,it's not that you're disconnected.

(02:34):
It's not that you are not ambitious,because if anything, it's really that
your ambition doesn't align with you.
You're just out of alignment, Here'swhat I see so many of my coaching
clients go through, and this iswhat I wanna share with you today.

(02:55):
Being productive is not the same.
As being purposeful.
And I'm gonna keep saying that.
Why?
Because productivity is a tool.
It's not your identity.
It's okay to get things done.
I'm not saying don't get things done.
It's okay to get things done,but you're not a machine.
And I think it's important that we pauseand ask ourselves like, is this serving my

(03:16):
soul or is it just serving my self image?
And a lot of times we are busy.
To make it feel like asense of purpose too, right?
If I'm, if I'm busy, if I'm beingproductive, then I'm not lazy.
I'm, I'm providing value in some way.
But busyness is not a buffer.

(03:39):
When we stay motion, to avoidemotion, that's a problem, so slowing
down actually allows us to feel.
And yes, that could be scary, especiallyif you've been taught to avoid your
truth, but it's so necessary, purposelives in the why not the what.

(04:04):
You can do a hundred thingsa day and still feel empty.
But if you did one, aligned yes, thatfulfills your why, your values, you can.
filling our entire body with peace.
Just one aligned.
Yes.
So here's the deep shift that I talkto with my clients, and I hope you

(04:24):
hear not just intellectually, butI hope this hits you in your bones.
Okay.
You've been praised your whole lifefor being the responsible one, the
achiever, the go-getter, the strong one.
The one who never drops the ball.
And yes.
That may have gotten you successand rightfully so, but it also

(04:47):
taught you a very dangerous lie.
And that lie is that your valueonly exists in what you do.
That is not true.
Here's what no one actually told you.
You don't need to constantlyimprove to be worthy of rest.
You don't have to constantlyachieve to be worthy of love.

(05:07):
You are already enough as you are, evenwhen you are still, even when you are
resting, even when you are not doing.
' cause you don't haveto prove you yourself.
You're already proof.

Camo Recording 2025-06-03 16-48-11-1: I'm gonna ask this question. (05:22):
undefined
Who are you when you stop performing?
Who are you?
If you are not performing, if you'renot pleasing, if you are not providing,
if you're not doing, who are you?
And if that question makes you squirma little bit, if it makes you panic,

(05:45):
then you found your work, becausereal purpose is not about performance.
It's in your presence.
It's simply being you and being present.
Your soul does not care about metrics.
And what you accomplish, it caresabout alignment, it cares about
meaning, it cares about peace.

(06:08):
So instead of waking up and asking,what do I need to get done today?
What if the question was, whatwould feel most aligned today?
Instead of go, go, go, go, go, go, go.
What if we pause long enough toask, what am I building and why?

(06:29):
What's my why?
and that may be the most importantpart, because if the life you're
creating doesn't feel like yours,who are you creating it for?
This isn't about quitting everything.
It's not about stopping everything,putting everything down, but it is
about remembering the you that existedbefore you were defined by productivity

(06:49):
or doing because that woman thatexisted before, she's still here.
She's just waiting for you toget quiet enough and still enough
for her to come home to you.

Camo Recording 2025-06-03 15-05-38: So here's what I wanna do today. (06:59):
undefined
Try to write down the three top thingsthat you do every single day, your
default tasks, and just three of them.
And then ask yourself, are thesealigned with who I want to become?
Or are they habits that I've keptto just prove that I'm worthy?

(07:21):
After you've answered those questions,cross one off the list and replace
it with something that reconnects youwith your values, not your performance.
What's the one thing you're lettinggo of to reconnect with your purpose?

Camo Recording 2025-06-03 16-48-11-1: So whenever you are facing overwhelmed, (07:36):
undefined
just remember it's not because you'reweak or you're unmotivated or you're
lazy, you're not disciplined enough.
It's none of that.
It's simply because you have beencarrying too much for far too long
and with a little room to breathe.

(07:56):
And that my friend, is nota time management problem.
That is a nervous system problem.
So let's talk a little bit aboutthe nervous system and what's really
going on and how we can reset it.
Okay?
Because.
It's not overwhelming isn't about havingtoo much to do, it's about how your
mind and body have learned to surviveunder a constant state of pressure.

(08:17):
Your default has become racing thoughts,a to-do list that multiplies the
moment you sit down, um, tightnessin your chest, like all that stress.
That doesn't mean that you're broken.
It means that you are operatingin a survival mode, and most women
have not been taught to listen towhat the overwhelm is trying to say.

(08:42):
When we feel overwhelmed, I thinkour body's communicating to us,
but we don't really stop to listento what it's trying to say, right?
Instead, we blame ourselves.
We think.
I really need to get my stuff together.
I really need to be more efficient.
I need to be grateful.
I need to be disciplined.
But here's the truth.
You don't need to try harder.

(09:02):
You just need to feel safer,Let's break this down into
three core insights to help.
Really understand what's going oninside, number one is that overwhelm
is simply unprocessed emotion.
Think about it, that's not a time issue.
yes, you may be managing some tasks,sure, but you're also managing emotions,

(09:23):
decisions, expectations, disappointmentsthat never had a place to land.
And if you have unprocessed emotions,your nervous system is running the show.
Okay?
If you are always in fight, flight,or freeze, there's not a planner
in the world that can fix that.
What you need is regulation.
Before you can create clarity,You need to reset, you need to

(09:46):
rebalance that nervous system.
You don't need a new routine.
And look, it's not this huge, crazything to do whenever you're feeling
overwhelmed, you simply have toregulate, reframe, and redirect.
What does that mean?
It means regulate is tojust breathe slow and deep.
Inhale for four.

(10:06):
Exhale for six.
We talk about breath work a lot onthis podcast, and that's why it helps
to regulate your nervous system.
And then you can reframe whateverthoughts are going on right now.
A lot of times when we areoverwhelmed, when we're anxious,
we're thinking about the future.
We're thinking about thingsthat haven't even happened yet
and we're stressed about it.
So reframe what is going onright now in the present.

(10:29):
What's true right now?
That's all you have to ask yourself.
Not what you fear, not what you'rescared of, not what could happen.
And I'm so nervous.
What's real right now?
What's real?
That's all you have to askyourself and then redirect.
And that simply means ask yourself whatis the next micro step that feels safe?

(10:52):
That is how your nervous systemmeets your soul, honor and clarity.
That's how you can start tofeel safe within yourself.
Here's what I want you toknow, and this might make you
feel a little uncomfortable.
You're not lazy, you're not tooemotional, and if anyone said you're
too much, you're not too much.
Okay, you're not, you are a human beingwith a fully functional nervous system,

(11:17):
one that has been functioning insidea culture of emotional suppression.
You are taught that laziness is thesame as rest, that boundaries are
selfish, that slowing down means failingor falling behind, and so naturally.
Our bodies have learned to stayin this tense, alert state.

(11:41):
We've learned to stay in motion, andthat overwhelm that you feel is not
a sign that you're falling apart.
It's a sign that your nervous systemis waving a flag, it's waving the
white flag of surrender saying,I, I can't keep living like this.
I need a break.

(12:02):
Because we were not supposed tostay in fight, flight, or freeze.
So you don't need more discipline.
You just simply need more grace.
And here's a reframe that I thinkchanges everything, If you think
about it, clarity isn't just mental.
It's physiological.
You can't think your way to peace if yourbody is locked in a panicked state, But

(12:23):
you can create safety within yourself.
One breath, one moment at atime, one boundary at a time.
And the goal here isto make you feel safe.
So when you're feeling overwhelmed,stop asking What's wrong with me?
'cause we all do it right?
And instead ask, what does mybody need to feel safe again?

(12:48):
That's a shift.
What do I need to feel safe Again,that will take you from the mindset
of performance to being present.
It takes you from the mindsetof guilt to feeling grounded.
It takes you from panic to peace.
So the next time that you feeloverwhelmed, place one hand on
your heart or on your belly.

(13:09):
Whichever works for you.
And then just say outloud, I'm not in danger.
I am allowed to pause.
and then ask yourself, what is the nextgentlest step I can take right now?
That's how you reclaim safetywithin yourself and that feeling
safe helps you reclaim your power.
So.
Don't push harder.

(13:30):
Don't add more to your plate.
Don't put so much guilt on yourself.
Instead, start by creating acalm, safe space within you
Just remember you reclaim yourpower, not by pushing harder,
but by creating calm inside.
And we too often look for the externalto feel safe, to feel grounded.

(13:52):
We look for something outsideof ourselves when really we just
need to feel it within ourselves.
so.
Allow that woman that's deepinside you, the one you may
still feel disconnected from.
Know that she's still there.
She's still waiting.
She's just waiting to feelsafe, not so overwhelmed.
Not so worried, and then shecan come back home to you.

(14:16):
Until next time, findthat peace within you.
I thank you for joining me today.
If you enjoyed this podcast, pleasefeel free to rate it or leave a review.
If you have any thoughts or questions,I would love to hear from you.
You can email podcast core happiness.com.
For show notes and additional resources.
You can visit www.corehappiness.com.

(14:41):
as always, please remember, neverlet anyone diminish your light.
Until next time, sending you my love.